Daniel Bowler
Sociology, BS
Graduated in 2020
Daniel Bowler grew up in Arlington, Virginia. Having grown up so close to Washington D.C., he had always been intrigued observing the work of the state and federal government. In his junior year of high school, he had the opportunity to take a sociology class—and he fell in love with the subject and the way it taught him to see and think about the world. He found himself thinking about what he was learning in this class all the time and trying to apply the concepts to gain new perspectives in his everyday life. When he was applying for university, he had no doubt that Sociology was what he wanted to study, and the co-op program further cemented his interest in attending Northeastern. Daniel believes that having social science degrees can be an advantage for people as they look for jobs in a variety of skills, however many social sciences students lack opportunities to exercise their practical skills, as well as apply their theoretical knowledge—Northeastern offers these unique opportunities. At NU, Daniel was a Sociology major with a minor in Criminal Justice, which allowed him to shape his education to prepare him for the investigative work in law enforcement that he longed to do.
Daniel took “Human Trafficking” with Professor Amy Farrell. He was inspired by her anti-trafficking law research and her emphasis on humanizing trafficking victims—seeing them as people, not statistics.
Daniel played ultimate frisbee every year of undergrad and helped develop NU’s program from only 30-40 players to over 100. He loves how the sport’s culture emphasizes spirited play and good sportsmanship.
Daniel’s first co-op was as Assistant Investigator with the MA Inspector General’s Office. His first taste of investigative work included surveillance, looking into potential cases, and email analysis.
Sometimes co-op can show you what you don't want to do. During Daniel's second co-op doing compliance work at Boston Private Bank, he realized he preferred working in the public sector.
Daniel took “Race and Pop Culture.” Here he learned how to effectively communicate arguments and the value of being open to having your ideas challenged by other perspectives.
Daniel took a photography class as an elective with Professor Luis Brens during his first year, sparking Daniel’s interest in photography. He now does professional wedding photography as a secondary job.
Daniel’s final co-op was as Assistant Investigator with the local Medicaid Fraud Control Unit doing corroboration and analytical tasks. It inspired him and set him on his current professional path.
Daniel’s capstone project was a video essay on far-right extremism and how white supremacy furthers its agenda within American police departments. He was granted the Social Justice Award for his project.
Daniel now works as Financial Investigator in the Virginia Attorney General’s Office. Looking into potential Medicaid provider fraud, he stops any healthcare proprietor from exploiting Medicaid patients.
“The sociology program taught me how to develop effective arguments in my writing, how to write on interesting topics in a way that hooks people, and how to take feedback from others to improve on my writing. Because of all the writing I had to do, when I went out and tried to get jobs, I had piles of documented evidence to show people that I really know what I’m talking about. After graduating from Northeastern, I was able to immediately get the kind of position I wanted.”
