(District Press Release)
Like so many other kids these days, Alaina Floyd likes to be on "The Hill" to cheer the Clemson football team and she enjoys riding horses.

She's also on Clemson's fencing team and recently became the school's first woman to place in the Temple University Fencing Open, where she took eighth.

But go a step further: She is in her junior year at Clemson with a 3.95 GPA as a chemical engineering major. She is doing active research on "synthesis and swelling behavior of double-responsive photopolymerized poly (methacrylic acid) - block poly (N-isopropylacrylamide) brushes" - which, according to her dad the medical doctor, means she is finding a more effective vehicle for specific drugs to release into a patient's bloodstream.

Alaina Floyd, daughter of Dr. Joseph "Chip" and Pam Floyd of Beaufort, is one of 321 students in the United States to earn the Barry Goldwater Scholarship of Excellence. This scholarship is an elite recognition for undergraduate achievement in mathematics, science and engineering.

She attended Lady's Island Elementary from kindergarten through fifth grade, Lady's Island Middle School from sixth through eighth grade, and Beaufort High from ninth grade until her graduation in 2005.

She graduated valedictorian with a 5.25 GPA, earned the International Baccalaureate Diploma, was an Advanced Placement Scholar with Distinction, was named a Palmetto Scholar and played on the Eagles' soccer team where she was co-captain her senior year.

"It's taking opportunities that are available and then running with them. I try not to let anything pass by that I'll regret later," she said in a recent phone interview between classes at Clemson.

Her father, a onetime member of the Beaufort County Board of Education, said his daughter is like many other success stories from the public schools.

"We are thankful to Beaufort County Schools and especially to all the teachers who, over the years, gave Alaina the foundation and opportunity to go as far as her talent and dedication will take her," Dr. Floyd said.

"This school system is about opportunity. We have excellent teachers and wonderful kids, most of whom are doing the right thing all the time," he said. "Sometimes we hear so much about the negatives and the challenges in public schools that we forget about all the things that are going right."

Alaina, who is 21, is an accomplished equestrian, riding competitively for the Clemson University Equestrian Team. While in Beaufort's schools, Alaina took ballet for 15 years and jazz and hip/hop dance for three years. She also played flute with the Beaufort Youth Orchestra.

She already has one paper published with two more to follow. As a sophomore, she was selected to represent Clemson at the "Meeting of the Minds" conference at the University of Virginia.

"I have 8 a.m. classes and go until 9 p.m. when I finish my fencing practice. I guess I have extremely good time management skills. It's fun and demanding, but I want to try everything that the college has to offer me," Alaina was quoted as saying in the ACC Championship program in December.

While a Beaufort student, Alaina participated in the Salkahatchie summer project with the Methodist Youth, constructing and refurbishing houses. She was involved with CAPA Café to support the Child Abuse Prevention Association, the Beaufort Youth Initiative and Interact - in whatever time was left in her day.

"I have a very clear picture of the two elementary teachers who first gave me the drive and conviction, Mr. (Ken) Dickman and Mr. (John) Fallon, who were at Lady's Island Elementary. They gave me the challenge - 'we're going to give you this kind of work and see if you can excel' - and I liked that challenge."

"I definitely hit the International Baccalaureate track in high school and ran with it. It definitely helped me prepare for college work, with how to study and how to manage my time. That's really a main part of your first year in college, figuring out how to get all the work done. I already had that kind of training from my International Baccalaureate work," Floyd said.

And her future? Alaina plans to pursue her doctorate in chemical engineering or bio-engineering, continuing her research into nano-technology. Her goal is to find new and better ways to precisely administer drugs instead of dosing the entire body, to maximize effectiveness and minimize side effects.

This summer she'll be taking her research to the Oak Ridge National Laboratories in Tennessee, and then to Vienna, Austria for a summer class.

Dr. Floyd is a pediatrician at Beaufort Pediatrics. Pam Floyd works with the Beaufort Soil and Water Conservation District.

On May 4, Al and Evelyn Berry, longtime supporters of public education, will host a local reception to honor Alaina Floyd.
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Yep--Our public schools regurgitate nothing but abysmal failures.