DES MOINES, Iowa — It's been a couple of months since Des Moines Fire Department's 2024 recruitment class began training to become first responders.
The class often wakes up early for training, and it's a workout that leaves everyone sweating and gasping for breath. But this training isn't unusual for some of the recruits: four of the 15 used to train in college athletics.
"I miss the physicality, the teamwork," former University of Iowa football player Ben Campos said. "The being a part of something bigger than yourself. But on the flip side, I have all that here."
Former Minnesota State and Grand View University softball player Julia Bastian added: "It's nice to know other people have shared your experiences ... I think the biggest thing here is, when I'm working out or doing something, I'm doing it for 14 other people, not just myself."
Selflessness is a trait both Campos and Bastain both applied in their collegiate sports, and they're illustrating that "team-first" mentality still as recruits.
"There's nothing that you get done here doing individually," said Kyle Patava, a former hockey player at the University of Colorado. "Everything's done as a group."
Former North Dakota State University football player Anthony Coleman told Local 5 a majority of the skills you gain from collegiate athletic experience are life lessons. He believes, at the Des Moines Fire Department, recruits get to learn and experience those life skills as well.
Capt. Stacia Swanson has spent 16 years in the Des Moines Fire Department and began her career at a recruitment level — just like the 15 new recruits she guides and mentors.
"As they start working together and starting become that unit, that cohesiveness starts clicking and stuff," she explained. "How they start working together, and that's exactly what we want to see take place here. Because then it's going to transition into the street."
Applications for the 2025 Des Moines Fire Department's recruitment class are open and will close April 15. The city tells Local 5 News they have already received dozens of applications for next year.