Mae Stevens para finds joy in being Santa

By Wendy Sledd

Special to Leader-Press

It is an understatement to say that Mae Stevens Early Learning Academy Paraprofessional C.J. Sowell loves children. The former daycare owner spends his days throughout the school year working with Copperas Cove ISD’s youngest scholars, pre-K students, to prepare them to advance to elementary school. As if spending eight hours a day surrounded by 4-year-olds is not enough, Sowell spends the holiday season donning a red velvet suit and spending many nights and most every weekend helping children believe in miracles and jolly ol’ St. Nick. For more than a decade, Sowell has continually brought joy to young and old alike with his Santa suit, boots, belt, snow-white beard, and of course, his iconic, “Ho, ho, ho.”  

“I have always loved Christmas from the time I was a little boy. About 15 years ago, a teacher friend of mine asked if I would be Santa for her club of special needs students,” Sowell said. “I borrowed a suit, and then former principal Sylvia Miller’s husband, Kipp, gave me his old Santa suit. I loved seeing the joy on the children’s faces.” 

Sowell has 12-15 Santa appearances each season at community events and local schools as well as for photographers, restaurants, civic clubs, and more. While he is paid for commercial jobs, Sowell is compensated for most of his appearances with a rewarding feeling of bringing joy to children. 

“I was at Krist Kindl Markt about five years ago and parents of a teenaged girl with special needs came by the tent. They explained that she probably would not come in, but they said they would love for her to see me. They walked by the tent and I waved at her. She stopped and looked. Then, they walked back by. She let go of her mother’s hand and came into the tent and sat on my lap, started talking to me, and the family was able to get the picture,” Sowell said. “It brought tears to my eyes when they said she had never done that before.”

An extensive history of working with children, Sowell is currently in his ninth year as a paraprofessional at Mae Stevens Early Learning Academy.

“It is rewarding to work with the prekindergarten kids when they start grasping what they are learning and seeing the looks on their faces. I love seeing them learn and grow at that age,” 

Sowell said. “Altogether, I have worked with children in early childhood education for almost 35 years.”