When asked why they chose to attend the Honors College at UVM, many students answer that they chose the college because it gives them the chance to challenge themselves through new opportunities—be it inside or outside the classroom. For Honors College senior Cole Burton, that new opportunity was outside the classroom and half a world away in the Mustang region of Nepal.

 “It just seemed like a once-in-a-lifetime chance to do something different,” Burton recalled, when asked why he wanted to study abroad. Originally from Waynesville, Ohio, Burton wanted to spend part of his college career overseas. Studying in Nepal would be his first chance to travel outside of North America.

Study abroad is an unforgettable opportunity. But for many college students, the cost of flights, program fees, or room & board in another country can be prohibitive. Burton originally thought that the financial barriers to study abroad would be too much to overcome. But the Honors College decided to help, and it used funds from donations to award him a scholarship. That scholarship paid for Cole’s six-credit UVM course Nepal: Changing Communities with History Professor Abby McGowan. In June 2014, Cole packed his bags and headed overseas.

“Because of [the support from the Honors College] I left North America for the first time and experienced the unimaginable in a high altitude desert among the Himalayan mountain range,” Burton said. “I traveled with Nepali guides who became close friends, I saw thousand year old monasteries, and witnessed the leading edge of globalization in one of the most remote regions of the world. It was a once in a lifetime opportunity that I will never forget.”

The academic experience was varied and rigorous, Burton says. The 31-day intensive course examined how globalization and climate change were affecting one of the most remote regions in Nepal. To address that issue, Burton and his fellow students spent the first part of June completing coursework at UVM before they took the 22 hour flight from Burlington to Kathmandu. In Nepal they spent most of their time in the Upper Mustang region trekking through mountains, meeting with farmers, interviewing local guides, and visiting monasteries as they grappled with how changing weather patterns and advancing technologies were affecting one of the most timeless areas of the world. But studying in Nepal was more than an unforgettable academic experience; it was a life-changing one. One of his favorite moments came while visiting a monastery; a group of monks performed a ceremony for the UVM students to wish them luck on their journey.

“The ceremony and the music they were playing just sent shivers up my spine,” Burton said. “Having the chance to study in Nepal has given me a better perspective on life. After seeing how people live there…it seems like a simpler way of living.”

Burton is now back in Burlington for his senior year at UVM. A double history and art history major, he’s working on his Honors College thesis, writing for the Water Tower, curating an exhibit at UVM’s Fleming Museum, and getting ready for his next steps after graduation. Inspired by his Honors College sophomore seminar, Introduction to Museum Studies, he aspires to go to graduate school for museum studies and become a curator.