You’re driving on the 5, cars start swerving, you hit the brakes – hard. The next thing you’re aware of is flashing lights, sirens and a paramedic saying to stay calm while the jaws of life cut away pieces of your car to get you and your passengers out. On another day, in a different life, the parents of a struggling child feel they’ve exhausted all their ideas, options and patience. Then a teacher intervenes with hope, encouragement, direction and a path forward. These examples aren’t the kind of exceptional customer service most of us expect or get to give… but it is the remarkable kind of service where someone is having the most disastrous day of their life and an intervention from a skilled, caring professional keeps it from becoming their end.
These scenarios describe the work-lives of two notable neighbors in Park Village: Colin and Nicole Stowell. They have spent their careers in service to others in ways that most of us can’t imagine, yet we can’t imagine our community without them.
Colin Stowell is a firefighter with 36 years of experience in the San Diego Fire Department. He has held every rank in the organization and the last 6 as SDFD Fire Chief. He plans to retire later this summer. Nicole Stowell is a Special Education teacher in the Poway Unified School District and was named the District’s Teacher of the Year for 2024-2025 and is a finalist for San Diego County Teacher of the Year. Her work and expertise over 28 years revolves around ensuring students with varying disabilities have the opportunity to learn and thrive in school alongside their peers.
Nicole grew up in a Navy family and eventually settled in San Diego. Early in her teaching career she saw the need and opportunity for a fulfillment working with special needs students. She recognized that she had the passion and skill for this challenging type of work and decided to make it her career. Outside the classroom, Nicole is the person who brought The Little League Challenger Division® to our community in 2008. Challenger is Little League’s adaptive baseball program for individuals with physical and intellectual challenges. She has served on the RPLL Board for 18 years and has organized, led and recruited volunteers – everything needed to help the Challenger team to thrive. Student athletes from PUSD high school baseball and softball teams play alongside Challenger athletes, teaching, coaching and showing them a good time.
As it turns out, Nicole and Colin both love baseball. Nicole is committed to ensuring kids with disabilities are able to play and experience everything that being on a team of peers entails. Colin is a self described baseball fanatic and they both look forward to meeting their goal of watching a game at all the MLB ballparks in the United States in their retirement years.
After graduating from Mira Mesa High School, Colin was drawn to becoming a firefighter for the excitement, the challenge, the variety of career opportunities and the chance to serve the public. He noted “there’s really nothing that compares to the satisfaction of knowing you are helping someone in their greatest moment of need, possibly the worst experience of their life. The role of the firefighter is to help them get through that moment.”
The resources and tools available to firefighters have changed significantly over Colin’s time with the SDFD. For example, advances in weather and fire modeling coupled with the capability to geographically target text alerts enables agencies like SDFD, Cal Fire and the US Forest Service to proactively warn the public of threats and what action to take. Colin said overall the best advice he has for every citizen is to be prepared and maintain a “Ready-Set-Go” mindset. He urges people to heed the advice to evacuate and not wait, if the order is given. Staying behind to defend a home or “wait and see” costs precious time and can make the job of firefighters more difficult.
Homeowners and property owners can find a wealth of information and best practices for preparedness and keeping property safe on the SDFD website. Services & Programs | City of San Diego Official Website Fire Safe Council of San Diego County is a collaboration between public safety agencies and local communities that came about after the fire storms that devastated areas of San Diego in 2003 and 2007. The goal is fire prevention and safety throughout the county, while encouraging community involvement. Learn what you can do before, during, and after a wildfire to stay fire safe and fire wise. Fire Safe Council
In the firefighting profession, Colin noted there is now a better understanding and acceptance of protecting the physical and mental health of the force. Younger people on the force are more comfortable acknowledging the effects of traumatic experiences they encounter in the line of service, and are more likely than their older counterparts to seek help for problems that may be related to PTSD. Throughout the organization, there is recognition that it’s important and necessary to seek and provide help for problems that arise from the stressful and sometimes traumatic events people experience on the job.
Having led his Department over 5 years, 2 mayors, a dozen Council members, navigating budgets, managing recruitment and overseeing a diverse organization devoted to ensuring public safety, Colin is optimistic about the Department today and where his successor will take it in the future.
Together Nicole and Colin are looking forward to adjusting to a “new normal” in a few months. There may be some travel in the works, definitely some Padres games, and they both look forward to Colin being able to “unplug” from the ever-present tether of his work phone, emails and messages that have been part of their lives. Their young adult children are close by and they look forward to some quality time with family and friends.
On behalf of the Christensen Realty Group and our community, THANK YOU Nicole and Colin Stowell for your service. We wish you a lifetime of continued success and happiness!
May 2024
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