On Friday, he has a convocation at 8 a.m., an open house at 10 a.m. and, oh yes, one more convocation at 5 p.m.

That's the schedule for multitalented student Jacob Durrant, who will be all over Brigham Young University's campus the next two days as he becomes the proud holder of not one, or even two, but three degrees.

In only five years, the whiz student from Sandy and son of Utah Supreme Court Justice Matthew Durrant has picked up bachelor's degrees in mathematics and Portuguese, a minor in chemistry, and a master's in physiology and developmental biology. All the while maintaining a perfect 4.0 grade-point average.

But don't go to this humble grad for horn tooting. You won't hear any.

"It's not because I'm smart, but because I'm crazy," said Durrant, who squeezed in an interview while studying for a math final. "I've been running around like a chicken with its head cut off trying to finish everything in time."

As amazing as Durrant's studies sound, they represent only a slice of what the medical-school-bound student has accomplished.

He has written and published a history of the Atlantic transit of Portuguese slaves to South America. He has translated into English a Web site for a Brazilian humanitarian organization. He has taught calculus and genetics classes, volunteered as a mentor at a youth-detention center and worked on several academic papers.

After finishing an LDS mission to Brazil in 2001, Durrant returned to the South American nation two years later for a three-month service internship. He went door to door with Brazilian doctors, visiting impoverished diabetics and developing software for clinics.

He also met and dated his future wife, Taciana, during the three-month stay.

"It was a very productive internship," he said.

The National Merit Scholar - who refuses to buy a new pair of shoes because his current tattered pair still have life in them - also knows how to have a little fun. Durrant entered several dance competitions and was a finalist in BYU's competitive polka contest.

"I lost to a guy brave enough to wear lederhosen," he said.

Daniel Fairbanks, a professor of plant and animal sciences, said Durrant stands above all of the bright students he has mentored.

"In 16 years at BYU, I've never had another who is as gifted," Fairbanks said. "Design the perfect student, and that's Jacob."

Like others in the Class of 2005, Durrant hopes to apply his studies and research in the real world. But first, he has to decide which medical school to attend this fall: Harvard, the University of California at San Diego or some other. In the meantime, he'll be looking for a summer job.

"No one in my neighborhood seems to need an amateur biophysicist," he said. "So I guess I'll be flipping burgers."

thollingshead@sltrib.com