Rand Hinds enjoys being able to connect with his students through his experiences and first-hand knowledge of the world. With all the place Hinds has been and experienced, he would give Walter Mitty, the focal point of short story and film, a run for his money.

Hinds, who like the fictional character acts upon his dreams of adventure, is known among his Tupelo High School students for his travels and experiences and how nearly every school break he goes somewhere new.

“I like to see different places,” Hinds said “There’s much more out there to go and learn about.”

Hinds has been to 39 states excluding Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Washington, New Mexico, Hawaii, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Iowa and Wyoming. He’s also been to nine different countries.

His favorite cities include New York City, Boston, Miami, Philadelphia, Washington D.C., Denver, San Diego, Chicago, and his all time favorite: New Orleans.

“I also really like going out West,” he said “I enjoy the openness and the mountains, and through going out West I’ve learned to love snow skiing.”

Because he also enjoys attending sporting events, “I will often try and see local professional sports teams play,” Hinds said.

Hinds, however, doesn’t just go to different places for the entertainment purposes, he often will go to the places where historical events have taken place and also try and find any local museums in the area to see what he can learn. A large emphasis on learning from travel is put on by Hinds. He feels that you get a better understanding of the world as a whole through travel and that is a large motivation for him to do it.

“You can’t really learn about these places just by hearing about them, you have to really go to get the full knowledge of them,” Hinds said.

Every traveler needs a traveling buddy and Hinds is no exception. Hinds enjoys taking his faithful friend Herbert the Hedgehog along with him on his travels.

”Herbert has been just about as many places as I have,” Hinds said with a grin. “He needs the travel just as much as I do.”

Hinds began to laugh thinking about some of the stories that he has experienced by being on the road.

“One time, Herbert and I were driving through the Holland Tunnel and my car began to stall. We ended up starting a huge traffic jam inside one of the busiest tunnels in America,” Hinds said. “Another time when I was in Washington D.C. we were stopped by the Secret Service because we had accidentally driven onto White House property! While visiting Scotland I went on a tour to one of the nearby castles. When the tour was over I somehow did not make it to the bus on time and it had left me. I tried to call the police  to see if they could help me find my hotel but I couldn’t figure out what the name was. So I ended up asking the police to come pick me up and we drove around until I finally remembered the name of my hotel.”

Hinds uses the knowledge he has gained from travel in his classroom on a day to day basis.

“Because of all of the experiences Mr. Hinds has from all of his traveling, he was able to help me think about college choices as someone who wants to go out of state,” junior Cooper Moore said.