CREEKSVILLE, N.C. — Selina Boyd’s participation in NC Project SEED almost didn’t happen.

“I found out about it from my counselor a week before deadline,” said Boyd, a senior at Northampton County High School-East. “I felt it was something I had to apply for.”

As she rushed around securing references and writing an essay for the statewide, year-round science enrichment program, she remained focused.

It was her research on “The Effect of Recycled Sodium Hydroxide on the Production of New Copper Nanowires” for Project SEED that led to Boyd receiving one of 24 honorable mentions in the International Sustainable World Energy, Engineering, Environment Project Olympiad (ISWEEEP).

“Project SEED was hard,” she said. “It was the hardest thing I have ever done. And it prepared me for college, and I was able to compete in ISWEEEP.”

Earning a honorable mention and a cash prize of $200 was a big achievement for ISWEEEP, because 440 projects from nearly 1,100 young scientists were submitted from 70 countries earlier this month in Houston.

And Boyd is amazed her research was recognized and thankful for both experiences.

“In seven weeks, I was able to conduct research in order to participate in ISWEEEP with people who had been doing research for three to four years,” she said. “I didn’t think I was going to place.”

Boyd owes her success to participating in the seven-week Project SEED at Duke University last summer. Her research mentor was Dr. Benjamin Wiley. After the summer portion, she continued to meet for the program once a month.

In addition to helping her compete in ISWEEEP, it helped with her being accepted to nine universities and receiving more than $100,000 in scholarship offers.

On June 9, she graduates from Northampton East and heads to North Carolina Central University in the fall.

She is undecided about her major but hopes to do more research at the university.

Boyd isn’t resting. She is looking for more scholarships so she will not have to take out any student loans or have to work during the school year.

“I want to be a full-time student,” she said.

Boyd became interested in science because it was hard and she felt ready for the challenge.

Her principal, Pamela Chamblee, describes Boyd as being a very focused student in the top 20 percent of her class.

“She has set the standard for students to follow,” Chamblee said. “She will leave a legacy at Northampton East.”

Boyd will be the first person in her family to graduate from high school and hopes to be the first to graduate from college. Her ultimate goal is to set an example for her three younger siblings.

“It is important to show them that if you work for it, you can achieve it,” she said.

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