It is the day Alexander Barnes planned and budgeted for all year.

As nearly 400 scouts approach the Perkinston, Miss. campground, Barnes waits at check-in to begin three weeks filled with hiking, swimming, canoeing and shooting for the Scouting America Southeastern Louisiana Council’s annual summer camp.

“We have a shotgun, a rifle and an archery range that was available to them. A climbing tower, pool and the lake for boating,” said Barnes.

He is the executive board member over camping and outdoor programs.

Known to most as “Chief Barnes” at Nicholls State University, he reveals more than being a well-respected police officer. He is also a dedicated supporter of the community’s youth through scouting, after-school programs, and family activities.

“I volunteer a lot with scouting because I’m an Eagle Scout,” Barnes said. “So, I give back to the program that has done so much for me.”

He discovered his love for scouting in middle school and became an Eagle Scout at around 15 years old.

Barnes grew up in New Orleans with aspirations of joining the military at a young age.

“Growing up, my favorite movies were military and cop movies,” Barnes said. “My dad was in the Army, and I always wanted to serve my country.”

During high school, after the nation’s 9/11 terrorist attack, Barnes veered his sights on working at a federal agency. After graduating from high school, he enrolled at Nicholls as a criminal justice major.

There, he served as the Student Government Association’s Vice President and then President, while simultaneously beginning his career in police enforcement as a student worker.

Barnes worked his way through school as a part-time police officer, and after graduation in 2009, he became a full-time sergeant. After taking a six-year break from the Nicholls police force, he came back in 2018 as a lieutenant and was promoted to police chief in 2020.

Barnes also serves on the board at Hi-5, an after-school program for children in Thibodaux.

“For a lot of these kids, when they get home from school, their parents are still working. They have nowhere to go, nothing to do,” He said. “We don’t want them to get involved in the wrong thing.”

This program helps the children with their homework, teaches them etiquette and brings them to Nicholls and New Orleans Pelicans games.

“We even have donors that give money to the program specifically for getting all of them Christmas presents to help them have a good Christmas, as well as sending them to a summer camp,” Barnes said.

The Nicholls Hall of Famer is also known as Uncle Alex to students on and off campus. He said there are too many to count.

While Lt. LaVerne Glenn, Nicholls’ Assistant Parking Director, worked on her bachelor’s degree, she would bring her children to work on the weekends.

“He (Barnes) would say, I’ll watch your kids for you while you work,” Glenn said.

She said her children loved Barnes and kept them busy coloring, painting and making signs. 

“Although he’s a chief, he’s like a little brother to me,” Glenn said.

Barnes expressed the sense of family and belonging he feels here on campus and in the bayou region. 

“That’s why I love the fact that I work here. I’ve had other opportunities to go elsewhere, and I choose to stay here,” he said.

Barnes believes everyone influences the youth, and the best way to give back is to impact them positively.

“I like working with kids all the way around. I like serving my community and giving back”, said Barnes. “We have to create environments where we know our children are safe and can succeed.”