Kearnie Baudoin, University bus driver, drives the football, baseball, softball, men and women’s basketball, cross country, track and field, volleyball and soccer teams to and from campus for competitions. He also serves as a driver for field trips concerning academics.

Q: How long have you been driving the bus?A: “(I have been driving the bus) since ’98. I’ve been employed at Nicholls since ’89. I worked at Student Publications and Printing. The summer of ’98 is when I transferred. One of the reasons why I transferred is because I was burned out standing by a machine all day, but the main reason why I transferred to athletics is because both of my kids participated in athletics-my son in baseball and my daughter in volleyball, and when the job became available, I took it.”

Q: What are your duties as the Nicholls State bus driver?

A: “(My duty) is to drive-whether it be academic or athletics-to and from the Nicholls campus as safely and quickly as possible. Sometimes (there are) day trips, but a lot more are overnight trips. My driving is from September to mid-May. It is roughly about 35,000 miles. I am in charge of refueling and cleaning the bus. We have a restroom in the bus, and I am in charge of dumping the waste and refurbishing the bus to have it ready for another trip.”

Q: Are you the only bus driver for Nicholls?

A: “I’m the only full-time bus driver for Nicholls. As far as I know there are three part-time drivers. We do have the second bus, which is old, and if we do need a second driver, either when the second bus is used or it’s more than 10 hours, then we hire another driver. That’s not something that happens on a daily or weekly basis, but it does happen.”

Q: Do you listen to music while you drive the bus or do you do any other activity to keep yourself occupied?

A: “Well, for long trips most of the time they watch movies. I can’t see it, but I hear it. I could turn on the radio, but since there is only a single set of speakers the music and movie would clash. I don’t focus on the road itself. I look at the road of course, but you look at the line on the road and the rear view mirror not to get hypnotized because it’s very easy to get hypnotized. One thing I have to distinguish are gunshots (or) splatter of glass or sirens and make sure it isn’t coming from the bus. On long trips I never think about the whole trip. I break it down. It’s a lot easier to drive.”

Q: What is your favorite team to drive?

A: “My favorite team to drive probably would be baseball because my son played. I coached him as a youngster and all the way up to high school, and I followed it. My second favorite would be volleyball because my daughter played. I like all the sports. It’s a great job. You get to bring them to the games and watch the games and take them to eat and sometimes spend the night.”

Q: What is the best and worse part of the job?

A: “The best part is driving teams to competition and watching the games. The worse part is getting back at 4, 5, 6 a.m. and being at the max of 15 hours limit (by federal law Baudoin cannot drive more than 10 hours in a 15-hour period) by law you know it’s time to be at home. That would be a downside. Driving during the daytime is totally different than driving at night.”

Q: How long is an average road trip?

A: “Conference-wise, it can be an hour and a half to eight hours. We go to San Antonio and Arlington, which is eight hours from Thibodaux, and the closest would be New Orleans, which is an hour, and Hammond, which is an hour and a half. An average would be five or six hours.”

Q: Do you drive any other people on campus around in other vehicles besides a bus?

A: “Yes. I drive vans sometimes if they need a driver for vans and a station wagon when they need to go pick up someone at the airport, or I use the station wagon to pick up the mail. Sometimes I drive the Intergeneration Bus (Family and Consumer Science Bus).”

Q: Have you ever been stopped for a traffic violation while driving the bus?

A: “Yes, I have. One time I was stopped for a burnt headlight. I knew I had a burnt headlight, but I couldn’t repair it so they just gave me a warning saying, ‘take care of it.’ I still think they wanted to see who was on the bus. One time I was stopped for going 62 (mph) in a 55 (mph zone), and I think he just stopped to see who was in the bus. I have never had a speeding ticket.”

Q: How long do you plan to continue driving the bus?

A: “Actually I’m eligible to go in DROP (Deferred Retirement Option Program). I start in March of next year, and it’s a three-year program. After that I can go back in the system or retire.”

Q: Are there any other jobs that you do on campus?

A: “I do the mail and bring (athletic) scholarships and financial aid forms around campus. I pick up the mail for women’s athletics, and sometimes I go off campus to pick up something or to the airport to pick up a perspective student athlete.”