At this moment, on the other side of the world, LaQuishia Stone is having trouble breathing. Stone, a 17-year-old junior at Carver High School, is part of an expedition that’s taking her and several others on a nine-day trek to Base Camp at Mount Everest. At 17,600 feet above sea level, the air is thin.

The Everest Expedition is sponsored by Hanesbrands and represents the corporation’s longstanding partnership with Carver, one that has significantly improved honor roll achievement, graduation rates, and college-entrance test scores.

Back in December, Hanesbrands invited Jamie Clarke—a mountaineer, author, and motivational speaker—to address a packed auditorium of Carver students. After sharing his personal summit story, Clarke announced that Hanesbrands planned to send a student, parent, and teacher to Everest Base Camp to rendezvous with him. Stone ended up being that student.

“I realized it was a once in a lifetime opportunity,” she says. “Something I could share with my peers back home.”

Joining Stone on the expedition is her mother, LaShonda, and her guidance counselor, Theresa Hamer. Hanesbrands has also sent a film crew with the group to record their adventure.

“I look forward to learning more about the culture over there,” Stone said before departing for Katmandu. “They don’t have much over there and I’m sure that’ll make me more appreciative of everything I have here.”

She returns later this month to share her experience with classmates. For now though, high atop the Himalayas, standing in the shadow of Mount Everest with her mom, Stone can be confident that her “once in a lifetime” experience will always be remembered as breathtaking.