You know that adage that someone has a full plate?

Well, that’s not the case with Jordan Junod: She has a full platter.

The 24-year-old from Richmond spends nearly every waking minute feeding her desires to achieve her many goals, to broaden her knowledge, to be self-sufficient, to make someone else’s life better.

She will walk away with three bachelor’s degrees during Commencement at Indiana University East.

She already works full-time as an accounting supervisor at Silgan Closures Richmond.

She multitasks in other ways – such as changing the oil and brake rotors on her car; fixing plumbing problems; building a chicken coop.

“I have been taught to be very self-sufficient,” Junod explained. “I’ve done a lot.”

And there’s always more to do.

She learns how to perform many tasks by reading books and watching videos. Some tasks need to be learned as “life happens,” Junod said.

For example, she picked up most household duties after her mother, Lorri, was seriously injured last July in a car accident – and her father, Alan, broke both his wrists while falling off a ladder at work.

Jordan Junod tends to the menagerie of pets at home – nine chickens, three cats, two rabbits and one dog. She also helps care and advocate for her younger brother, who has learning difficulties. She also dealt with the emotional toll of losing a beloved grandma last October.

“It’s not been a good year,” she said.

But, it’s been a good four and a half years of challenges and life changes through IU East. Junod was home-schooled through high school and took a gap year before starting at IU East.

Junod said she comes naturally to hard work and multitasking because her family has a background of farming and innovation. In fact, her paternal grandfather, Larry Junod, helped design engines on the
Stealth Bomber.

Jordan was very apprehensive about life on a campus.

“I was very shy, pulling-teeth quiet. I was definitely afraid of college,” she admits. “I didn’t know anybody. I was nervous.”

She channeled the nervousness into energy and her inquisitiveness into an extensive resume of honor-roll-level work at IU East that was accomplished mainly through online courses.

“I have always had a lot of passions – to read, to learn, to write, to explore new subjects,” she explains.

She touched on all of those by earning a B.A. in English with an emphasis on technical professional writing, a B.S. in Criminal Justice and a B.S. in Business Administration with a concentration in accounting.  She also minored in Finance and Financial Forensic Investigations.

She explains the diversity of bachelor’s degrees:

– English was a natural subject because she has loved writing since she was eight years old. “Being homeschooled taught me to teach myself – read textbooks, get assignments, go off and read science, fiction, literature,” Junod said.

– Criminal Justice: “I have really loved law.” She researched about contracts and federal laws and about parent advocating to help her brother. Junod was considering law school before the family misfortunes of the last year.

– Accounting: “I am good with numbers.” Her starting job proves that – as does the fact she was honored as the Outstanding Student in Accounting at the Honors Convocation on April 18.

The love of numbers, innovation and helping others led Junod to discover a new passion over the last few years – as a Supplemental Instruction Leader at IU East.

She gets excited when she makes a connection and helps a student find ways to see and solve math problems:

“I really found that passion and thoughts of teaching.”

Perhaps a degree in education could be on her plate in the future.

Perhaps a lot of travel, too. Silgan has more than 100 plants across the United States and the world.

“I didn’t want to be stuck in something the rest of my life. I can go anywhere I want,” she said.

Right now, she’s focused on helping her family and getting financially stable.

“I am taking it one day at a time.”