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Alumni & Students

Student & Alumni​ Movers and Shakers

Milpitas Unified School District has continuously nurtured creativity, leadership, and excellence in all of our learners. MUSD students are currently building connections between elementary through career age learners with organizations such as Girl Genius, STEMgirls, My Roots are Rich, SAMP, and Azen Seagulls. Their creativity and foresight about the future of community, civic engagement, and entrepreneurship is remarkable. Your contributions to the new Innovation Campus vision will allow students to continue to thrive and be:

  • adaptive to interconnected world
  • compassionate & inclusive
  • curious, joyful, & creative thinkers
  • inspired, passionate, & purposeful

"At MHS, my experience with a Culture of We has been extensive. From the consistent stream of different study groups, collaborating to help each other learn, to the different events hosted by our ASB, I definitely believe that collaboration and inclusivity are a big part of my experience at MHS."   
​
​-Thomas Chen, Milpitas High School, National Merit Scholar Semifinalist 2020 

Milpitas Extreme Robotics (MXR)

A group of five people participate in a video conference call, each person in their own home.

Milpitas High School Robotics Team

"Milpitas High School senior S’ven Morley loves to fly drones. Milpitas Xtreme Robotics Club President Kalino Ruiz enjoys combat robotics. Trojans’ junior Kathan Sheth relishes a good challenge, and Club Secretary Aisha Jaffrey appreciates the intra-club battles. Every member of MXR eventually finds their niché within the official robotics club of Milpitas HS, and all of them savor the camaraderie amongst members...MXR recently launched a free virtual App Development Class, which has attracted nearly 50 Milpitas Unified School District 6th through 8th grade students. Some will be the future leaders of MXR who will continue 'to discover, create, or nurture a passion for what Silicon Valley is famed for—technology'...”
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​​"After learning of a shortage of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for healthcare workers [during Shelter in Place], three student members of the Milpitas Xtreme Robotics team with 3D printers immediately shifted gears and began producing face shield braces....the MXR team is currently ranked in the top 3% overall and top 3 among Robotics teams for donations of Central Process Unit (CPU) and Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) through Folding@Home, a program developed at MIT, to help model COVID-19 in an attempt to find a cure." Read Full Article

Amy Stanley

A young woman with long black hair and a neutral expression, wearing a black blazer and a pink shirt.

​Milpitas High School Student
Founder of ProjectMaskify
​Awards: Community Heroes Award Recipient 2020
"Amy Stanley, a MUSD Student Board Representative, founded ProjectMaskify, a youth-led movement that has made and donated more than 4,000 masks to frontline workers in the local community [during the Pandemic]. The MHS student leader is President of the MHS STEMgirls organization that has helped inspire more than 150 Bay Area students through STEM education..."
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Read the full article on other award recipients
Read about her in Campus Connections

Nyla Choates

A young woman smiles while holding a copy of the book 'I Am Enough' by Grace Byers.

Milpitas High School Class of 2021
Founder of Roots are Rich
​​Awards: Community Heroes Award Recipient 2020

"Nyla Choates, a senior at Milpitas High School, founded the nonprofit My Roots are Rich, which works to show all people the culture and historical achievements of African Americans. The MHS Black Student Union President was the lead organizer of the Black Lives Matter demonstration in Milpitas [in 2020]...."
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Read the full article on other award recipients

Read about her in Campus Connections

Nima Bhavansikar

A young girl receives an award from a man in a suit, standing in front of a sign that reads 'Congratulations 2020 Community Heroes'.

Alexander Rose Elementary Student, 7th Grade
Founder of Shirts for Smiles
​​Awards: Community Heroes Award Recipient 2020

"[Nima Bhavansikar], a sixth-grade student at Alexander Rose Elementary School, started a fund to support the Milpitas Food Pantry through her Shirts for Smiles endeavor. She designed shirts with all proceeds benefiting the pantry. In addition, she teaches kindergarteners and first graders in the Brain Builders Program...."
​Read the full article

Shivali Gulati

A young woman with long black hair smiles brightly at the camera, wearing a red sweatshirt.

Milpitas High School Student, Senior
Founder of Girl Genius

"Gulati, 17, founded her nonprofit Girl Genius in December 2018 'to connect, inspire, and empower female change-makers in STEAM worldwide...'
'Since our start, our nonprofit has impacted over 150 high school and college girls from 40 locations and seeks to ensure females (non-binary and trans-inclusive), as well as people of color, are given a voice through our three mediums: magazine issues, blog posts, and YouTube videos,' Gulati explained. The nonprofit recently partnered with Makers for COVID-19, an international group of about 200 people with 3D printers who are making 20,000 PPE for more than 30 hospitals each week. Gulati teamed up with Makers founder Karina Popovich, a 3D printing activist and student at Cornell University who is passionate about closing the gender gap in engineering for this endeavor...."
​Read full article

Thomas Chen

A young man with short black hair smiles brightly against a blue sky.

​Milpitas High School Student, Senior
Awards: National Merit Scholar Semifinalist 2020
"What does being named a National Merit Scholar Semifinalist mean to you? Being named a National Merit semifinalist means that I scored high enough on the PSAT to be considered for this scholarship program, which I am honored to be a part of. It shows to universities that I have the critical thinking skills tested in this exam as well as the SAT, but is not a true representation of intelligence...."
​​Read the full article about Chen and other Semifinalists

Milpitas High School Students & MHS Math Club

A split-screen video call with three participants, two men and one woman, engaged in conversation.

Website Designers

"A group of Milpitas High School students and members of the school’s Math Club are developing a new website that will connect Milpitas Unified School District employees with local property owners who have available rental units.....'I’m treating the students as an engineering team for what we call a skip level project,' said [Parent Advisor, Gregory Jones], who provided the students with an authentic project development experience. Once the platform is complete, the next step will be to make it accessible to rental owners, just in time for recruiting the next class of innovative MUSD educators this spring...."
​Read Full Article

Christopher Norwood

A man in a suit and tie smiles warmly in front of an American flag.

Milpitas HS Alumni
Current Occupation: Milpitas​ Unified School District School Board Member
Awards: California School Board Association Member of the Year 2020

"...Norwood, a Milpitas High School alumnus who joined the MUSD Board in 2014 and served as its president in 2019, was chosen [as the California School Boards Association’s State Board Member of the Year] among nearly 5,000 school board members making up 977 school boards throughout the state. “We all know Chris and that he is a strong advocate for kids in the community, especially in Milpitas and MUSD,” said Superintendent Cheryl Jordan. “His sense of ‘We’ and investment in building on the greatness that is Milpitas is quite evident in what he does...."
​Read full article

Lisa (Do) Hofflich

A woman with brown hair and a red shirt looks directly at the camera.

​Milpitas HS Class of 1990
College/Degree: NYU/Broadcast Journalism
Current Occupation: Regional Director and Special Advisor for US Senator Kirsten Gillibrand
"As the Regional Director and Special Advisor for US Senator Kirsten Gillibrand and previously a Legislative Advisor to two members of the NYS Assembly, Hofflich—who now acts as the Senator’s representative for eight counties and 3 million people in the Lower Hudson Valley—has written 28 New York State bills that have been signed into law, including this Walking While Trans....Hoffilich fondly remembers her years at Milpitas High School. 'I loved my time at MHS,' she said, vividly recalling her History teacher Henry Robinson and others who impacted her to this day. 'He was a social activist even in the classroom. He taught us how to be advocates for social justice. He’s fantastic,' said Hofflich of the retired educator and current MPD Police-MUSD School Liaison. 'The faculty and staff at Milpitas HS were really accepting, very nurturing. ..I never felt that I couldn’t do something after talking to one of my teachers.'"

Edmund (Ed) Gil

A man in a black suit and white shirt smiles at the camera against a blue background.

​Milpitas HS Class of 1981
College/Degree/​Law Degree: UC Berkeley/Political Science/University of Arizona
Current Occupation: Owner of a private law practice
"A former lead prosecutor with the Tulare and Madera County District Attorney’s Office who now runs his own private law practice, Milpitas High School Class of 1981 alumnus Edmund (Ed) Gil fondly remembers a close-knit circle of childhood friends that motivated one another to reach their fullest potential....After passing the California Bar Exam to earn his law license, Gil clerked at the courts in San Jose before being hired by the Tulare County DA in 1994. He worked as a prosecutor for 20 years, handling high profile cases including those involving death penalty, murder and gang violence...Looking back at his high school years, Gil credited one teacher in particular for having a strong influence on him: English teacher Ms. Taggert who challenged him with a stringent grading system...."

Andrew Taylor Weir

A man wearing glasses and a cap speaks in front of a blue background.

Photo credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls

Rancho Middle & Milpitas HS Alumni
Current Occupation: Novelist

Andrew Taylor Weir is an American novelist who wrote The Martian in 2011 that was later developed into a movie directed by Ridley Scott in 2015. Other notable literary works includes:  Cheshire Crossing, The Egg, Artemis. He received the  Goodreads Choice Award for Best Science Fiction and John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer. Before becoming a science fiction writer, Weir previously worked as a computer programmer in various software and video game companies: AOL, Palm, Blizzard (Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness). 

Vita Vea

A football player wearing a white jersey with the number 88 and the word 'MILPITAS' on it, stands on the field.

Milpitas HS Class of 2014
​College: University of Washington
Current Occupation: Defensive Lineman for the NFL Tampa Bay Buccaneers

With 31-9 championship victory in the 2021 Super Bowl LV, Tampa Bay Buccaneers' defensive lineman Vita Vea became the first Milpitas High School graduate to win a Super Bowl. Vea started off his football career playing for the Washington Huskies at Washington University. He was drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2018. 

Read about him on Fox News, SF Chronicle

Marvin Madrid

A man with dark hair and glasses looks directly at the camera.

Milpitas HS Class of 2012
College/Degree: SJSU/Animation & Illustration​
Current Occupation: Storyboard Artist

Marvin Madrid is a storyboard artist living in the Los Angeles area. After graduating from MHS in 2012, he received a BFA in Animation& Illustration from San Jose State University. He interned at Cartoon Network and went on to work for Dreamworks TV on animated series Madagascar: A Little Wild and Fast and Furious: Spy Racers. He is currently working on Transformers, the animated series, at Nickelodeon. To see samples of his work, go to 

Madrid's Portfolio.
Ready his full MUSD Alumni Profile here.

Steven Chrabaszcz

A man wearing glasses, a black cap, and a black jacket with the text 'All Day And A Night' makes a gesture with his hands.

​​Milpitas HS Class of 2009
​College/Degree: UCLA/ English
Current Occupation: Production Assistant

Steven Chrabaszcz is a production assistant in the film industry. After graduating from MHS, he received a degree in UCLA in English and began working in short films, TV documentaries series, and then into movies. His notable works includes: Venom, Ant-Man and the Wasp, and the upcoming Matrix 4.  To see his other works, go to Steven's IMDB page.

Jeannie Mai Jenkins

A woman with brown hair smiles at the camera, wearing a pink blazer and a black top with lace trim. The text 'Too Faced' is visible in the background.

Photo credit: The Paparazzi Gamer [TPG] - Screenshot from YouTube video, CC BY 3.0, Link

Milpitas HS Alumni
Current Occupation: Television Presenter, Make-up Artist,  Stylist

Jeannie Mai started her career as a MAC make up artist and worked her way up ​to celebrity faces such as Christina Aguilera and Alicia Keys. She started auditioning for television networks and landed hosting positions: Stir, California Music Channel, reporter/ producer of WB's The Daily Mixx. She also  appeared on E!, TLC, Lifetime, and NBC's Today. Mai is best known for hosting How Do I Look?, a  fashion makeover show on Style Network and Character Fantasy of the USA Network. She co-hosted The Real and won the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Entertainment Talk Show Host in 2018. 

Kim Bokamper ​

Miami Dolphins logo

Milpitas HS Class of 1972
Current Occupation: Retired Linebacker & Defensive end for NFL Miami Dolphins,  TV Broadcaster, Radio host, Restaurant Owner

Kim Bokamper is an American football player who played for the NFL Miami Dolphins during his entire 9 year football career 1977-1985. He played in two Super Bowls during his time with the Miami Dolphins.  After retiring from the NFL, Bokamper became a broadcaster for WFOR-TV in Miami and a radio host for WQAM-AM,  Dolphins Tonight show, The Audible live podcast on MiamiDolphins.com, and Paul and Young Ron Show on WBGG-Miami. He opened Bokamper's Sports Bar & Grill in Miramar, Estero, Naples and Fort Lauderdale.