Jordan Baccus, who will complete her Bachelor of Science in public health education and minor in business in May, grew up in Nichols, South Carolina. She moved to Cary at age 11 and Durham, North Carolina, in 2017 when she was 15.
At the age of 13, she experienced multiple strokes. She underwent four months of treatment and rehabilitation at the UNC Children’s Hospital.
The strokes made it difficult for her to walk. She also lost the ability to use her right hand, which was her dominant hand.
“I had to start over, learn to write with my left hand, forcing my brain and body to work in ways they never had before,” Baccus said.
The strokes also caused aphasia, a language disorder that leads to difficulties in speaking, understanding, reading and writing.
At the age of 18, Baccus experienced a seizure and was diagnosed with epilepsy.
Adaptation
Baccus is resilient. A willingness to adapt has run through her life and her time at North Carolina Central University (NCCU).
“Setbacks don’t define us, they prepare us for something greater,” Baccus said.
Technology helps. She puts all her tasks on the calendar of her smartphone. She wears a watch that automatically sends a message to her mother or 911 whenever she has a seizure (she was seizure-free for all of 2024). An electric wheelchair helps her get around campus.
The aphasia sometimes leaves Baccus struggling to find or articulate the right words.
“I need extra time to process what I want to say,” she said.
For tests and due dates for papers or projects, her instructors allow her extra time.
Some challenges, however, can only be responded to with persistence. From January to March 2023, she experienced two comas. This required rehabilitation which delayed – but didn’t stop – her graduation.
Accomplishments
Baccus hasn’t just survived college, she has thrived. She has kept up a 3.6 GPA at NCCU, been awarded six scholarships during her undergraduate career and is a member or officer in several honor societies and organizations. Those include:
- Golden Key International Honor Society member
- Chi Alpha Epsilon Honor Society member, vice president (2022-2023)
- The National Society of Leadership and Success member. Honor Society
- Society of Future Health Educators Member
- Women in Pre-med, board member (2023-2024)
- Eta Sigma Gamma Honor Society member, Miss Eta Sigma Gamma (2024-2025)
Helping others
NCCU requires undergraduate students to engage in 120 hours of community service to graduate. Baccus has engaged in excess of 300 hours. That includes volunteering with the American Red Cross, Habitat for Humanity, Sisters of the Men’s Achievement Center (MAC) – where she served as accessibility chair from 2022-2023 – and elsewhere.
Baccus is currently interning with the Epilepsy Foundation. In March, she attended a conference in Washington, D.C., where she spoke about her experience of epilepsy and stroke and the importance of seizure first aid training. She has also participated in the National Epilepsy Walk and distributed a survey to Black women with epilepsy at college.
Helping others has always been her ambition. Originally, she wanted to become a nurse. After experiencing her first epileptic seizure, she changed her major to public health.
“That’s what I want to do the rest of my life, community health,” Baccus said. “To prevent chronic disease such as strokes, epilepsy and heart issues.”
Baccus has been accepted to a master’s program in public health at East Carolina University, where she will start in fall 2025.