Charmaine Chinodakufa

Charmaine Chinodakufa is a first-year student from St. Peters, Missouri studying International Relations and Legal Studies and History. This semester, she’ll travel to Athens through a Penn Global Seminar course to examine race, human rights, and law in Greece, comparing the applications to the United States. On campus, Charmaine serves as a New Student Representative on the Undergraduate Assembly, on the Black Pre Law Association’s Conference Committee and on the Wharton Undergraduates in Public Policy Consulting Committee. She is involved in initiatives focused on education equity and community engagement, through the Agatston Urban Nutrition Initiative’s elementary school afternoon programming and as Administrative Assistant for Penn Rising Scholar Success Academy. Outside the classroom, you’ll find her exploring Philadelphia restaurants, trying out new thrift stores with her friends, or baking in the dorm. She’s passionate about using education and policy to bring communities out of poverty, motivated by her own family’s immigration story from Zimbabwe. 

During her upcoming trip, she is particularly looking forward to…

• Trying authentic gyros and baklava
• Visiting Mamma Mia landmarks
• Speaking to local migrants and learning about their experience
• Visiting the beautiful island beaches
• Exploring the Aegina ruins
• Learning directly from Greek NGOs working on human rights and migration, bringing lessons back to local work in Philadelphia and global work in Zimbabwe