In 2001, Daniel enlisted in the US Army to escape the South side of Chicago and finance his higher education aspirations. Over the next 4.5 years, he completed 2 years of college courses, including 7 online courses while deployed to Iraq as Team Leader for Recon units in Fallujah and Mosul. After Army, Daniel transferred to American University in DC where he found immediate success with a 3.98 GPA in his first quarter of full-time studies. However, when he showed up for his second quarter he was told without $16,000 he would have to drop-out. His mother was unable to support him or co-sign on a loan. He had to resort to begging his grandmother in a nursing home to co-sign instead. After graduation, Daniel joined the U.S. State Department as a Foreign Affairs Officer for the Office of the Coordinator for Reconstruction and Stabilization. He worked on numerous engagements in Kandahar, Haiti, Karachi and Kosovo.