Christopher Nowinski is the only Harvard University graduate in World Wrestling Entertainment. A little known fact about the Harvard grad, is that as a youth, he was not allowed to watch wrestling. Growing up in a Chicago suburb, Nowinski would occasionally watch WWE when visiting friends or family. But it wasn't until the summer after his junior year at Harvard, when he lived in an apartment with five WWE fans, that Chris, too, would become a fan of sports-entertainment.
Nowinski was a three-year letterman and two-year starter as a defensive tackle for Harvard’s football team, with the goal of making it to the NFL. He received honorable mention to the All-Ivy League Team his junior year, and was second-team All Ivy his senior year. However, he was injured in his senior year and that prevented him from pursuing the NFL. Soon after graduating in 2000 with a degree in sociology, he enrolled at a wrestling school run by the legendary Walter "Killer" Kowalski, the same training center that produced current WWE Superstars Triple H and A-Train. He took classes at night while working days as a pharmaceutical and biotech consultant at a firm in Boston. One day a fellow Harvard alumnus informed him that WWE was unveiling a new reality show called "Tough Enough," where the winners would get WWE contracts. Nowinski sent in his tape, and was selected for the show and went on to be one of the finalists. Although Nowinski didn't win the competition, he continued training and participating in independent promotions to gain experience. In April 2002, he was invited to participate in a WWE fan festival during WrestleMania Weekend, which turned out to be an unofficial tryout. Two weeks later, he received a phone call, and a contract, from WWE.
Outside the ring, Chris Nowinski has been active in WWE’s Smackdown! Your Vote! campaign, serving as the WWE’s political correspondent for the 2004 elections. He promotes this non-partisan partnership that encourages young people to get involved in the political process and to actively vote. His vast knowledge of politics is of no surprise, as he is able to sit down with high school and college students, discussing why they need to have an interest in politics and understand that they represent the future of America. In addition, Nowinski also promotes reading after school hours and during the summer.
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