Alumni News: Special Agent Craig Bowling

First Craig A. Bowling Scholarship in Criminal Justice Awarded

Biography of a special agent

WSU Criminal Justice alum Special Agent Craig A. Bowling at the lectern talking to a class.
Special Agent Craig A. Bowling talked with CrimJ students about his work and career preparation.

Special Agent Craig A. Bowling has been a federal agent for 20 years, the last 15 of which have been with Homeland Security. He is currently assigned to the New Haven, Connecticut, field office. During his career, Special Agent Bowling has conducted and led investigations that resulted in convictions for espionage, terrorism, money laundering, intellectual property rights (IPR) violations, export violations, and child exploitation. Most significantly, Special Agent Bowling was the lead investigator in a 13-year international terrorism investigation that commenced shortly after 9/11 and that eventually resulted in the convictions of three individuals on terrorism and related offenses.

Special Agent Bowling is also a Computer Forensics Agent who has testified as an expert witness in federal court. He has conducted scores of forensics examinations of computers, mobile phones, and related devices. Special Agent Bowling has provided training to federal, state, and local law enforcement, and his research into computer-related crime has been published in peer-reviewed academic journals. Special Agent Bowling holds bachelor of arts degrees in Criminal Justice, Sociology, and French and a master of arts degree in Criminal Justice, all from Washington State University.

Alumnus Special Agent Craig A. Bowling wears a WSU Cougars t-shirt while talking from the lectern to a group of students in a classroom at WSU Pullman.
CrimJ students enjoyed Bowling’s firsthand insights.

Connecting with students

Special Agent Bowling visited WSU Pullman on Sept. 28, 2018, and spoke with students in CRM J 330-04: Crime Control about a 13-year, post-9/11 terrorism case for which he was the lead agent. He also talked about how he came to be hired, what a career in federal law enforcement looks like, and how to prepare for such a career.

First Bowling Scholarship recipient announced

Morelia Maravilla

Morelia M. Maravilla is the first recipient of the Craig A. Bowling Scholarship in Criminal Justice for 2018-19 AY. Maravilla is a Latin American who was raised in Harrah, Washington, on the Yakama Native American Reservation. She began attending WSU in fall 2015 and is currently majoring in Criminal Justice and Criminology with minors in Psychology and Women’s Studies. With this academic background, she hopes to aid individuals from pre- and post-trauma related to sex trafficking and sexual assault.

Maravilla is currently active as an assistant hall director for WSU Residence Life and Housing; as vice-president of Alpha Nu Multicultural Society; and as a member of Detour Dance Company, the WSU First Scholars Program, and the Ronald E. McNair Post-Baccalaureate Achievement Scholars Program.

This summer, Maravilla studied abroad in Rome with the WSU First-Generation Study Abroad Program and attended the iSchool Inclusion Institute (i3), University of Pittsburgh, School of Computing and Information. Since then, she has been conducting research that will enable her to make a difference amongst law within the technological realm of virtual reality.