Thibodaux’s versatility as both a college town and a retirement community was highlighted, after it ranked 7th in the state as a top retirement destination in a recently released study by financial company SmartAssets.

Kathy Benoit, president and CEO of the Thibodaux Chamber of Commerce, explained that baby-boomers and college students are not as different as one might think.

“In a small college town, retirees and baby-boomers like me know that there’s a lot of activity,” Benoit said, “a lot of cultural events which are low cost or no cost. A lot of baby boomers like me are lifelong learners. We have the opportunity to take noncredit courses if we want to or even if we want to continue our education for credit, that’s available.”

Stephanie Verdin, the director of marketing and communications, said that as odd as it sounds, it is not unusual for cities to attract both college students and retirees.

“Some of the same things that interest college students are what our retiree community is looking for,” Benoit said. “They want to go to concerts and attend theater productions, so being located in a college town is attractive to retirees because the town always has something going on.”

Many Nicholls activities are open to the community. The upcoming homecoming kickoff will be a block party in downtown Thibodaux.
“It used to be a barbecue that was here in the ballroom and now it has expanded out into the community and is open to the community,” Verdin said. “I think as Nicholls grows, one of our goals in addition to growing our student enrollment is to grow our presence in the community.”

“That’s how it works together,” Benoit said. “Baby-boomers like me don’t think we’re old, so we can socialize with people of all ages.”

“When people are looking for a place to retire, they look for a safe community, a community that’s friendly, a place that has good healthcare and a bevy of activities for them to take part in,” Verdin said. “I think Nicholls is lucky because we have all of those things.”

An article in the Daily Comet cited Thibodaux’s particularly high scores in doctor’s offices and retirement centers. Thibodaux has 4.3 doctor’s offices per 1,000 people compared to the national average of 1.2 and 1.0 retirement centers per 1,000 people compared to a national average of 0.4.

“In terms of healthcare, I think we’re very fortunate to be located so close to Thibodaux Regional Medical center,” Verdin said. “A lot of students come here to work, eventually in the health industry.”

Whether in nursing and Allied Health, athletic training or to pursue medical school, Nicholls students have plenty of opportunities for internships, practical experiences and part time jobs, according to Verdin.

“I think it’s also comforting to the elderly population, living in a place where you know you’re going to get solid health care,” Verdin said. “Several of our nursing professors specialize in elder care, and as a nation it has becoming more and more important as we’re seeing baby-boomers reach retirement age.”

The new culinary building and expanding department may offer continuing education classes in the future. The goal is that they will be able to offer noncredit cooking classes and host demonstrations.

“Culinary has a huge demand from people in the community, especially people who are retired and have enjoyed cooking their whole life,” Verdin said. “Because they just opened, it’s going to take them some time to start offering those classes, but that’s the goal.”