Three years ago, when Ashley Cureton’s sister, Sanee, asked how many countries she’d visited, Cureton realized she’d never done a formal count.
“I just wanted to see the world; I didn’t have a running list of where I’d been,” said Cureton, assistant professor of social work in the School of Social Work, and assistant professor of educational studies in the Marsal Family School of Education.
But her sister’s question inspired Cureton to take an official tally, and she was surprised to learn she’d been to 86 countries. By the end of last year, she had upped that to 103, plus all seven continents — including Antarctica, where, yes, she saw penguins and, no, she did not pet them.
“Penguins are wild animals; I don’t pet wild animals,” she said.
Cureton did love Antarctica’s wild and pristine landscape though, and to immerse herself in its unspoiled beauty, she decided to camp out one night. She was visiting the continent in December, when temperatures hover around freezing.
“I was camping with another person, and by the morning we were literally hugging each other to stay warm. I’m glad I did it, but I will never do it again,” she said, laughing.
Cureton’s numerous adventures could fill a book — and they will one day, as she is working on a travel memoir she hopes to complete by July 2026, the month she turns 40. Over the past two decades, Cureton has lived in South Africa, India and Turkey, and almost every time she travels for work (which is frequently), she schedules a side trip or two. Among her many highlights: paragliding in Nepal, riding in a hot air balloon over Kenya, surfing in Rio, and skydiving in New Zealand.
All that travel has also earned Cureton a spot in The Travelers’ Century Club, a nonprofit social organization for people who have been to 100 or more countries or territories.
“The Travelers’ Century Club was created in 1954 and, at the time, there weren’t a lot of people in the club who looked like me,” said Cureton, a Black woman. “Today there still are not a lot of people who look like me.”
Intro to travel
Cureton knew from the time she was a child that she wanted to see the world. After discovering “The NeverEnding Story,” a tale about a boy who travels to a fantasy land via a magical book, Cureton began dreaming about venturing beyond her hometown of Louisville.
Because her upbringing was modest and her family’s resources were limited, Cureton’s first opportunity to leave the U.S. was in college, when she signed up to go on an archeology dig in the Bahamas. She didn’t enjoy the dig much, but she loved traveling and couldn’t wait to do it again.
Cureton, a first-generation college student, had just graduated when she surprised her family by announcing she was moving to South Africa. During her time in Cape Town, where Cureton worked as a teacher, she encountered refugees fleeing east and central Africa.
That exposure influenced Cureton’s educational and career paths, and, upon returning to the U.S., she enrolled in graduate school to learn more about forced migration and study global social work.
Party of one
It was while she was working toward her master’s, then Ph.D., at the University of Chicago that Cureton took her first solo trip abroad, a move that would dramatically alter the way she saw herself as a traveler.
Cureton had been planning a trip to Tokyo with a friend, when the friend canceled at the last minute. The year prior, Cureton had another friend bail on a joint trip to Paris, and Cureton, disappointed, had canceled the trip. This time, she decided she wasn’t going to let reservations about traveling alone deter her — and she headed to Japan by herself.
“I was terrified, but that trip introduced me to solo traveling, which morphed into something pretty big,” said Cureton, who estimates that of the 100-plus countries she’s visited, more than half she’s traveled to on her own.
“In Tokyo, I discovered that I enjoyed traveling by myself. I liked deciding where to go and when to go. I could sleep in or not, and I could wander freely,” she said.
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“Being alone also forced me to make travel friends and talk to local people.”
Today, Cureton still enjoys routinely traveling solo, and she even has a travel agreement with her new husband, Abhishek (“Abhi”), whom she married last April. “I told Abhi I get one solo trip a year,” she said. “And that doesn’t include the quick trips I might tack onto work travel.”
Cureton does enjoy seeing the world with Abhi too, and they’ve recently been to Peru, New Zealand, Fiji, Norway, Denmark, Sweden, and France — and hope to get to India, where he grew up, as well as Bhutan, in the next year.
Also on Cureton’s bucket list: Belize, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Finland, Senegal and The Gambia. And she wants to try to visit all 50 U.S. states; she’s been to 37.
“Traveling has served as an informal classroom for me. It has corrected misconceptions and biases about other cultures and taught me to be more inclusive,” she said.
“There’s only so much you can learn from a book. There’s only so much you can learn from a documentary or a TV series. You have to go and experience it.”
Q&A
Name your favorite spot on campus.
I love walking around U-M’s North Campus due to its beauty, which offers a tranquil and picturesque environment with stunning views, especially during the fall.
What inspires you?
The refugee and migrant children, youth and families who I encounter all over the world. I appreciate their powerful narratives and ability to adapt to new environments. These families have overcome so much adversity. It is a privilege to collaborate with them on educational initiatives.
What are you currently reading?
“Dream Count: A Novel” by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. She is one of my favorite authors, so I am excited about this book, which was just published.
What can’t you live without?
My faith, Abhi, family and close friends, global and domestic travel, daily walks, music, a good book, Oreo cupcakes, and laughter.
Who has had the greatest influence on your career path?
Trina Shanks has had the greatest influence on my career path. She is the Harold R. Johnson Collegiate Professor of Social Work, director of the Center for Equitable Family and Community Well-being. As my faculty mentor in the School of Social Work, she is a brilliant scholar who offers sage advice and best practices on how to navigate and excel in academia. I appreciate her commitment to leading community engaged projects and initiatives and for modeling academic excellence. She is one of my biggest champions, and I am extremely thankful for her guidance.
What memorable moment in the workplace stands out?
It is a complete honor to teach brilliant U-M students, so some of my favorite moments occur in the classroom. Each class session is interactive, intellectually engaging and fun. I love to incorporate technology and case studies to illuminate course themes and readings. Also, students engage in “learning stations,” which allows them to delve deeper into course content by engaging in supplemental readings, short video clips, puzzles, and other interactive activities. Students rave about the applied activities that support their learning and enable them to engage with their peers to develop solutions around globally oriented issues.
