Helen Kyriakoudes graduated from the Our Lady Academy in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. Kyriakoudes was co-captain of the swim team, and a member of the yearbook staff. From October 2011-July 2012 she participated in a gap year service program through AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps (NCCC), working on projects at the Boys and Girls Club of Brazoria County, Texas; Veterans’ Green Jobs in Denver, Colorado; Central Oklahoma Habitat for Humanity in Oklahoma City; and Rebuild Joplin in Missouri. In 2011, Kyriakoudes participated in the second Southern Mississippi Journalism High School Journalism Workshop, hosted by USM School of Mass Communication and Journalism. She was one of 17 high school students selected to spend a week working with professional journalists, USM journalism faculty and USM journalism students to produce television and radio newscasts, a newspaper and website. Kyriakoudes plans to major in History, and will work with SCALE, Student Coalition for Action in Literacy Education.