Raymond Bourgeois poses with President Verret at the Homecoming Banquet in 2024 as he was named the '24-'25 Alumnus of the Year. 

 

Augustus Jenkins Jr. works on a piece of art with Ron Bechet. 

At Xavier University of Louisiana, the mission is not confined to classrooms or commencement stages—it is lived, carried, and extended through the lives of its graduates. Augustus Jenkins Jr. ’04 and Raymond Bourgeois ’75 reflect that calling in distinct yet deeply connected ways, demonstrating how a Xavier education shapes careers and purpose. Whether through teaching the next generation or building community from the ground up, both men embody a shared commitment to service, leadership, and the pursuit of a more just and humane society, proving that Xavier's mission is continually lived.

Both men took different paths after their respective graduations: one followed his initial passion and returned to the University, where he now serves as an educator to the next generation, while the other pivoted and found equal passion as a pillar in his community.

When Bourgeois graduated with a degree in biology, he was hell-bent on getting into medical school and eventually living out his love of laboratory work. But upon his return to Houston, Texas’ third ward, he found himself working in a pawn shop, clothing store, and jewelry shop, one he’d eventually manage and own until he retired and shut it down in 2019. Becoming a business owner wasn’t his plan, but the change turned out to be for the best, and a natural transition from the leadership and service skills he’d learned and adapted during his undergraduate years at Xavier.

“I served as president of my freshman class and was very heavily involved in the student government at Xavier, rewriting the constitution and various articles that we had for election. I was elections chairman for three years at the University,” Bourgeois recalled fondly. “I was one of the students that actually ran the men's dormitory, and I was assistant dorm director for three years.”

During his time as a student and even after, he stayed close to the professors and staff who mentored him, often taking the Sisters to lunches and dinners as a way of giving back.

“We took care of the Sisters,” he said.

That time of service carried him throughout his time post-graduation. Bourgeois, affectionately known as Raybo, said that service and community are embedded in every

student who walks on Xavier’s campus. As a business owner in Houston, he found himself on several boards and involved in community programs.

“My shop was a mainstay in the heart of the community, where we cashed checks,” he said. “It was a meeting place for anybody in the third ward area, which was the Black community. And it had been there for 61 years. It allowed me to do a lot of things, which I have continued post-retirement. I'm presently in the process of helping churches and organizations start CDC's - which are Community Development Corporations. I coached basketball for 46 years, middle school and high school, where I taught kids organized basketball. I was blessed to send kids to the pros through basketball, from a church organization, and had heavy recognition by both Texas Southern University and the University of Houston.”

He said that despite not following his original oath in medicine, his career allowed him to find something he truly loves and to continue doing so. Raybo gives back through building and remodeling homes. He raised two successful daughters, one of whom runs a hospital in Milwaukee, and the other who runs an international dance and arts program for underprivileged kids out of New York. The dedication to service and community continues through his lineage, which he says is what Xavier is all about.

Jenkins Jr. didn’t envision that after graduating from Xavier in 2004, he’d return to the same campus to educate the next generation. But as an art student, he said, one of his mentors, Xavier legend and sculptor John T. Scott, echoed in his mind.

“At Xavier, and especially in the art department under John T. Scott, we’re told to pass it on. That means that whatever we learn, we should be helping those next to us, and coming behind us,” Jenkins Jr. said.

He was long drawn to Xavier, having family members who’d attended the University, and even teachers who recommended he attend.

“I applied to Xavier, LSU, and Dillard and eventually chose Xavier because it felt like a more communal environment,” he remembered. 

And the sense of community never left.

After college, he attended Southern Illinois University’s graduate school, where he was part of the 2D program. Within that program, students gain teaching experience. Scott reached out to him simultaneously while he was still a student, which led to him getting one of his commission jobs with Entergy to create a piece for some of the outstanding employees. He also worked on several other art projects, such as creating awards and printmaking for various purposes. Jenkins Jr. was eventually asked to teach a few classes at Xavier, including Art Appreciation, and the rest is history. He now lectures and teaches several courses in art, design, printmaking, and drawing, while working as an artist and collaborator for several major projects throughout Louisiana and beyond. Not only is he passing it on, but he’s also worked on a program that honors Scott.

“I am a part of a group of alumni who were active in starting what is called the Scott Celebration, which happens the last weekend of the month of June, which is when Scott's birthday is, and we plan art activities that happen,” he explained. “The art activities have ranged from actually doing sculptures to actually just having one weekend where people did drawings, where we put up big sheets of paper. In addition to being a part of that group that helps to plan that, I've actually functioned as the actual printer of the actual t-shirts for that, and we have about six t-shirts that are out there that I've been the printer for, and two of them I've actually been a designer for.”

Jenkins agreed with Raybo that service and community, as the mission, are ingrained in Xavierites.

“I find myself doing that with my current students and my former students as well, where if I learn a new bit, a piece of information, I want to share that with as many people as possible. And there’s a lot of ways to do that. That can be in terms of emails, getting it to them, or even conducting workshops,” Jenkins Jr. said.