For Nick Bourgeois, friends and family are everything. The New Iberia native said it’s that connection to the people and the outdoors that has guided his life.

“I’m a big outdoorsman,” he said. “I’m always out hunting, fishing, visiting our family camp. I’ve been hunting since I was a kid with my grandfather and my father.”

Bourgeois said he initially wanted to work in law enforcement, in forensics. But after a few years in the criminal justice program at South Louisiana Community College, he decided it was not the life he thought it would be.

“I wanted to be a detective, work crime scenes and do CSI sort of stuff,” Bourgeois said. “But I realized after a while it was not what I thought it was, and it really didn’t pay very well.”

Plan B for Bourgeois was a Bachelor of Science degree in business from the B.I. Moody School at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, which led him into the oilfield service industry. Since he graduated in 2007, the 35-year-old has worked at several companies, starting with Bayou Companies and working his way to Javeler Marine Services, where he is now the operations manager. 

“I decided if I was going to go to school for four years, I was going to get a degree that would make it worthwhile,” he said.

That was a good choice, especially now as he and his wife raise a set of three and a half year old twins.

“I’m looking forward to getting the kids into the outdoors,” Bourgeois said. “When it’s not hunting season, I’m getting things done around the house.”

Beyond that, Bourgeois’ goals are simple. He enjoys sharing his time with friends and family on his family property building memories and sharing stories over a good meal.

“I like to cook a lot in out  back,” he said. “When it gets nice outside, we have a couple of people over and spend some time together.”

At the heart of his life is his home in New Iberia and the roots he and his family have developed over the years.

“What keeps me here is family ties, my family and friends,” Bourgeois said. What really keeps me here is family property, our family camps. I love being able to go out on the weekends and be outdoors.”

According to Bourgeois, that opportunity is something that he would not give up, no matter what the business opportunities elsewhere might offer.

“If I had to drive back and forth for four hours just to get to our camp, that would not be worth it,” he said. “I’d rather be here where I can live the life I want.”

“I wanted to be a detective, work crime scenes and do CSI sort of stuff. But I realized after a while it was not what I thought it was, and it really didn’t pay very well.”                   

 — Nick Bourgeois