Can you imagine rowing a boat around Milpitas? MUSD Board of Trustees President Christopher T. Norwood did just that. Growing up in Milpitas, he said that after long, heavy rains, the city would flood and people would bring their boats out and row around.
Part of Generation X and born in Spokane, Washington, Norwood has lived in Milpitas from the age of nine and graduated from MHS. He said his high school years had its share of good times—he clicked with his teachers and started a company at 16— and bad times as he tried to fit in with his peers and struggled through his parents’ divorce.
“No one’s perfect,” he said in a Zoom interview. “You think some kids are cooler than they really are, and you play a lot of head games on yourself in high school. I played them on myself too, but I ended up getting through it and going to college out in West Valley, and then I went to San Jose State for a little bit, and I dropped out and started my second company at 18… and then [I] got some technical skills [and] became part owner of a software company in Mountain View.”
Norwood said his first company, South Bay Entertainment, threw dances and parties, while his second company was a record label, where he released Christian rap songs and music videos. In addition, in college, he studied Christian Leadership and Biblical Theology.
“God was the only subject that didn’t bore me,” he added. “Studying God takes a lot. Or Christianity, or the Bible.”
Later on, Norwood said he coached basketball for a few years, and he began tutoring the players in math. He realized that the students were able to learn, but were unable to grasp the way their teachers taught them, he said. As word got around that he tutored students, he began to volunteer in schools.
“Nelson Mandela says, ‘Education is the most powerful weapon in the world,’” he said. “I didn’t understand it until I realized what you can do with an education. You can use it for good things or you could use it for bad things, but weapons are used to protect you. When we call it the most powerful weapon in the world, I’m like, ‘Weapons aren’t necessarily bad. Weapons serve a purpose.’”
Eventually, Norwood said the former school board president, Marsha Grilli, encouraged him to run for the Board. He said he was initially reluctant but he decided to run. He became the MUSD Board of Trustees Vice President three times and President twice, he wrote in an email.
“I got to learn and teach some amazing things,” he said, after describing his initial hesitation. “I learn every day. I learn something about kids, I learn something about schools, I learn something about teachers … and I’m fascinated.”
Currently, Norwood lives with his wife, Arzee, his son John, a current junior at MHS, and their black miniature poodle, Beau, he said. His daughter Yazmeen Trinity attends the California Polytechnic State University. When he isn’t working for MUSD or as part of Stanford University’s technology group, he said he enjoys spending time with his family and eating different cuisines.
“Most recently, I started playing chess with my son [and] a game called Backgammon with my wife,” he said. “I like watching Netflix, U-sports as well as professional sports, and then spending time with my wife. She’s full of energy, lots of fun, [and] loves kids.”
When asked what he was most proud of in life, Norwood said he was most proud of getting married and having kids. He wouldn’t trade his family for whatever other people could offer him, he said.
“It’s just an amazing feeling to sit at the table with everybody… even though we don’t get along all day,” he said.
Norwood said he wants people to know that he roots for everybody. He wants to encourage everyone to be their best selves because if everyone felt good about themselves, then they wouldn’t have to worry about hating or being afraid of someone else, he said.
“Since my childhood in Milpitas, it has always been a ‘Culture of We,’” he added in an email. “We didn’t always agree—and no one does. The community recognized, respected, embraced and learned our cultural, race, physical, financial and language differences.”
In 2019, Norwood spoke for a TedxMHS event about what he called “TheWakeUpTour. ” The video’s description talks about unlocking your full potential and being the difference you wish to see. Norwood hopes readers will watch it and share it with others.
“It talks about your generation and how you can change the world if you just realize all [the] things that you could do,” he said.
