Cole ZuWallack ’24, a Parks, Recreation and Tourism (PRT) major, was travelling to Auckland, New Zealand for his semester abroad when the unthinkable happened: the pilot came over the loudspeaker and told the passengers that the plane was dangerously close to flying into a cyclone. “We could tell something was wrong—the turbulence was scary, I was gripping my seat hard,” Cole recollected. The plane made an emergency landing in the Cook Islands, and once Cole and his friends had disembarked, they began to wonder how they’d find lodging in one of the most expensive travel destinations on the planet.
They didn’t need to fret for long, however, as the airline put them up in a villa at a luxury resort for two days. “It would have been pretty pricy for three college kids to check that off our travel list, so it was an unexpected bonus of studying abroad,” Cole said. After two nights in the Cook Islands enjoying the natural beauty (and the five-star accommodations), Cole was able to complete the journey to New Zealand and begin a semester of studies at .
Cole spent the spring of 2023 in Auckland, where his coursework gave him a valuable perspective on the tourism industry. “Most of my classes were tourism focused because that’s a huge part of New Zealand’s economy,” Cole explained. He took courses on global issues in tourism, hospitality and event marketing, and sustainable tourism and development.
His favorite class from his semester abroad was the hospitality and event marketing course. “I really learned how to market for the tourism industry,” Cole said. “We did presentations on relevant topics and hypothetical marketing plans and showed them to companies. It helped my public speaking and helped me understand what companies are looking for from their marketing teams and what kinds of marketing actually work in the industry.”
Cole’s open-minded approach and positive attitude served him well on his perilous journey to New Zealand and in his studies, internships, and job experiences. Cole began his college career playing football at Plymouth State University in New Hampshire. Cole missed his home state of Vermont (he’s from Williston, just ten minutes away from Burlington) and transferred to ̽̽’s College of Arts and Sciences to study sociology.
However, that summer after his freshman year at Plymouth but before he started at ̽̽, Cole worked as a dockmaster at the Burlington Community Boathouse. He enjoyed that work so much, he began to wonder how he could focus his studies on the tenets surrounding outdoor recreation and management. “I’d heard great things about the Rubenstein School. I knew they offered lots of opportunities to get outside. I met with Professor Stokowski, the director of the PRT program, and we decided it was a good fit,” Cole explained.
Despite beginning his studies in the Rubenstein School later than most of his peers, Cole immediately made himself at home. Cole took NR 1090, which replaces the required courses NR 1010 and 1020 for transfer students. The course introduces students to natural resources and the environment from biological, ecological, and social perspectives.
“That was a great way to get started,” Cole recollected. “We took field trips every week. Every Thursday we’d hop on a bus and travel to a different site. We learned about topics like rock formations and forest health—it was awesome because I got to be outside, I got to learn about the history of Vermont, and the course prepared me well for the rest of my studies in Rubenstein.”
Cole found even more to love in higher-level PRT courses. Having worked as a ski lift operator at Sugarbush for two winters, the beloved Course was an obvious choice for Cole. “We go to Stowe a week before the semester starts and learn about the resort and its operations. I want work in the ski industry, so it was incredible to get a behind-the-scenes look at a ski resort.”
Cole is preparing for a future career in outdoor recreation by working in the public sector here in Burlington. His work at the Burlington Community Boathouse put him in the orbit of Kurt Hawkins, the working foreman and maintenance supervisor for Burlington parks. “I formed a good relationship with him. When it came time to choose my internship for the PRT requirement, I asked him what else can I do within Burlington Parks and Rec?”
Kurt found work for Cole on the grounds maintenance and events team. That team is responsible for the hard work and little details that go into the blockbuster events of a Burlington summer. In 2023, the Waterfront Park hosted massive marquee events; for example, thousands of people attended two sold out Noah Kahan shows and hundreds more listened and watched from nearby rooftops or from kayaks. “Those concerts are huge events, and I was grateful to be one small part of it,” Cole said.
One situation from his time on the grounds team stands out strongly in Cole’s memory: “We were setting up for an event and a pipe burst,” he explained. “A stake got drilled through one of our water pipes. We had to scramble to dig it up and run to the store to grab a replacement pipe.” Cole remembers that the temporary fix saved them from disaster in the moment, but resulted in problems for the rest of the summer. “There was dirt and debris in the pipe so we were always fixing and maintaining it,” he said.
Most people would find that inconvenient and frustrating, but Cole took a different approach. “I gained hands-on technical skills during that fix. I believe there are lots of things you can only learn through doing,” Cole said. “In class I learned the concepts behind successfully running parks, and I learned how to implement those concepts in the internship with Burlington Parks and Rec.”
Cole’s strong performance in those public sector jobs earned him a job as Assistant Waterfront Manager for the city of Burlington this summer. “There was a new manager at the boathouse last summer, and I met him while I was working for Kurt,” Cole explained. “I applied for the position, and he wanted me on board. That’s a great example of how helpful networking can be. My advisor in Rubenstein taught me to always try and keep in contact with everyone you meet in a professional setting, because you never know who could help you find an opportunity.”
Cole had a few pieces of advice to offer current or prospective PRT students. “Go abroad,” he advised. “Go somewhere here you can study tourism and hospitality. Learn about different perspectives.”
all images courtesy of Cole ZuWallack