"The role is pretty much 24/7, and I have been that person, but now I'm stopping. That is with some regret. I really, really love this place."
"We help them [the students] to fulfil their [dreams]. There are ones we have to work quite hard on, but they still get to where they need to go, and they come back, saying what they did here made a difference.
"They all want to give something back. Empowering women is not just a tagline. It's what we do.
"There have been so many highlights; it's really hard to pin down. There are very few days I'm not experiencing some highlight. Sometimes they are big; sometimes they are small. That's what keeps me here."
Despite her love for the job and the school community, Mrs Cowens said it was time to move on.
"I'm a teacher, and I've got the opportunity to teach out there now, but in a different way."
She was interested in becoming a silversmith, writing science-fantasy fiction, travelling and social media.
"I'm going to be a Facebook and Twitter commentator, but not from a principals' perspective."
Mrs Cowens said she had had plenty of opinions to share but had held back, for now.
"I believe that if you have conviction, you should speak up but always be mindful of the role you are in."
Mrs Cowens said one of the realities of being a principal was its all-consuming nature.
"There's a lot of joy and pleasure, but there's not a lot of time for you," she said.
"I know there are people in the wings who are looking for that next step and I admire them for that. Education is a hard job. It's not easy and requires a lot of passion and dedication, but my staff have it in spades.
"My community is fantastic. I've made it sound like it's just us, but it includes all of the community, especially the parents who stand on the sidelines of sports fields or front of the theatre.
"If I had one wish, it would be that all of those parents could have all they deserve from the school because they give so much to it."
What the board has to say
Tauranga Girls' College board of trustees chairwoman Megan Cleverley said Mrs Cowens' passion and dedication to education was evident "as there has been a steady increase in the success of our girls' academic results achieving above national results of other schools especially for our Maori students".
"We would like to thank Pauline for her commitment to continual improvements for the college over this time.
"Pauline is also an active member of the community and has held numerous roles over the past few years, including community representative on the Historic Village review steering committee and advisory board.
"She was a founding member and chair of the board of the House of Science and is a long-standing member of the Tauranga Sunrise Rotary Club. It was her initiative to develop the Chinese Community College that is located at Tauranga Girls' College, she has been a strong supporter of Asia connections, and she is an active member and past chairperson of the Bay of Plenty Principal's Association."
The board will start a recruitment process during the next few week
