Windham High graduate preparing to travel to Tanzania

WINCHESTER, Virginia – A 2023 graduate of Windham High School is about to embark on a journey which will take her to some of the world's most treasured national parks and game reserves in Tanzania on the African continent.

Sophie Koutalakis of Windham, a Windham
High graduate, will be one of 50 students
participating in Shenandoah University's
2025 Global Citizenship Project and will
travel to Tanzania in Africa in march as
part of the program. COURTESY PHOTO 

Sophie Koutalakis of Windham is one of 50 students who have been chosen to participate in Shenandoah University's 2025 Global Citizenship Project (GCP). She will join other Shenandoah University students, faculty, and staff members as they travel to one of five international destinations during spring break this coming March.

Tanzania is home to the Selous Game Reserve, which is the world's largest game reserve and home to more than 120,000 elephants, 160,000 buffalos and 2,000 rhinos. Situated just south of the equator in East Africa, Tanzania became a sovereign and independent nation in 1964 through the union of the separate countries of Tanganyika and Zanzibar. It also the site of the majestic Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain peak on the African continent.

Koutalakis is studying environmental science and sustainability at Shenandoah University, and she learned what destination that she will be traveling to in March during the school’s International Convocation event in November. To qualify for the program, Koutalakis submitted an application and also wrote an essay which was chosen by the school’s selection committee based on her thoughts and passion expressed in the essay describing how she envisioned sharing her travel experiences upon her return from her trip overseas.

Shenandoah University’s Global Citizenship Project is celebrating its 20th year in 2025 and since first launching the program two decades ago, the Global Citizenship Project has witnessed more than 1,400 Shenandoah University students, staff, faculty, and trustees travel to 69 different countries and to seven different U.S. states and U.S. territories in an effort for each participant to learn more about the world and about themselves.

Along with her coursework at Shenandoah University, Koutalakis is a part of the Shenandoah University chorus. At Windham High School, she appeared on stage as Ali in the school’s production of “Mamma Mia” as Audrey in “Little Shop of Horrors,” and as Anelle in “Steel Magnolias.” She also was a standout performer with the Windham Chamber Singers.

Shenandoah University was established in 1875 in Winchester, Virginia. Through innovative partnerships and programs at both the local and global level, there are exceptional opportunities for students to learn in and out of the classroom such as with the Global Citizenship Project, and it strives to empower students to improve the human condition and to be principled professionals and leaders wherever they go in life. <