Come the end of the first semester, beloved math teacher Dan Bowler will be retiring from Benilde-St. Margaret’s. After 35 years, he’s decided to end his teaching career at BSM and start the next chapter of his life.

In 1984, Bowler was hired shortly after he finished his senior year at St. John’s University. He saw two available positions: one here at Benilde-St. Margaret’s and the other at his alma mater, Totino-Grace high school. He applied to both, was offered both, but felt a stronger calling to BSM. “Something in me just decided that I didn’t want to go back to where I just came from. I wanted to get a fresh start, so I chose BSM over Totino,” Bowler said.

He worked until 1988 until he joined the Peace Corps and left for Nepal; several years later he returned to teaching. Senior high math teacher and colleague of Bowler, Joanie Sauer was a freshman when Bowler started. “Our senior year was when he decided to go to Nepal to join the Peace Corps. He gave the speech at graduation to send us off to our adventure… because he was going on his adventure and we were going on our adventures,” Sauer said.

Bowler has been at BSM for 35 years, and when he reflects upon his time here, one specific class sticks out to him: the class of 1988. He started at BSM when the class of ‘88 were freshmen, and taught them again as seniors, so he feels he grew up with that class. “That was kind of my jumping-off point, the first group that I watched grow up…So I remember that class,” Bowler said.

Throughout his years here, he’s been involved in multiple clubs and activities, including coaching junior and senior high basketball for many years, coaching baseball for 4 years, coaching softball for 10 years, and coaching math league for the past 5 years. As a result of multiple extracurricular activities, Bowler will miss seeing students every day. “It’s the kids, it’s the people contact that I’ll really miss the most,” Bowler said.

While he has no big plans following retirement, Bowler and 11 other family members are embarking on a cruise from Boston to Montreal in May. BSM wishes him the best of luck on his next journey.