Since 2005, the Foundation for the Preservation of Honey Bees has awarded scholarships to support graduate students in apiculture. Affiliated with the American Beekeeping Federation, the Foundation is a charitable organization focused on making funding available for research and educational endeavors within the beekeeping industry. It has benefited tremendously from many generous gifts, including the estates of Glenn and Gertrude Overturf and Margaret and Victor Thompson, and continues to be sustained by ongoing gifts from ABF members and other supportive donors.
Graduate students currently enrolled in a university and studying any aspect of honey bees, bee husbandry, and/or the apiculture industry are eligible to apply for one of the scholarships being offered for 2025. Each award recipient will receive a $5,000 scholarship check, and moreover, the foundation will reimburse conference travel and lodging expenses. During the 2026 ABF Conference & Tradeshow, graduate students will have the opportunity to meet the Foundation Board of Trustees, as well as fellow researchers and beekeepers, and will be invited to present their research during the event’s Foundation Luncheon.
The following students received the Foundation’s 2024 scholarships:
Ian Collins — Ian is a Ph.D. of Science in Entomology student working with Dr. Lewis Bartlett, at the University of Georgia. His current focus is preventing and controlling small hive beetles as a cornerstone of improving honey bee health in the Southeast. He is completing this Ph.D. with the goal of eventually becoming an academic researcher working on honey bees and wider social insects. His research and academic emphasis focus on honey bees, community outreach and extension, with goals of: 1) expanding the scientific knowledge of honey bees and 2) aiding beekeepers and apiculturists in their further enjoyment of honey bees. Along with research, creating a population of beekeepers armed with the knowledge of how to care for healthy bees and conserve the environment they thrive in is a cornerstone of his future academic career and goals.
Benjamin Nichols — Benjamin is a Ph.D. student at Oregon State University. He earned a Master of Science degree in Environmental Biology from Swansea University, Swansea, Wales, U.K., and a Master of Science degree in Entomology from University of Nebraska, Lincoln. He has been working at the Baton Rouge Bee Lab in the Agricultural Research Service — Honey Bee Breeding, Genetics & Physiology Lab. His work focused on: managing multiple honeybee colonies, conducting choice assays and diet formulation, initiating and maintaining caged bee experiments, euthanizing and dissecting specimens following ethical guidelines, data analysis and graphing with GraphPad Prism, and general lab maintenance. Benjamin is the primary author of soon-to-be published work.
Rogan Tokach — Rogan is a doctoral student at Auburn University and was selected as a FFAR Fellow studying Entomology. He began beekeeping after a local beekeeper brought an observation colony to his local county fair. He became infatuated with it and made sure to return every day to try and find the queen. After the fair, he told his mom that he wanted to become a beekeeper. Thinking this was just a phase, she bought him the book “Beekeeping for Dummies” and told him if he read it all the way through, she would know he was serious. The plan ended up backfiring on her as he read the book cover to cover, and the next year he applied for and was awarded a scholarship from the Kansas Honey Producers Association for his first honey bee colony. He has been a beekeeper ever since! Through his work, he hopes to perform research aimed at improving colony health and communicating those results to beekeepers to help them limit their colony losses. In Rogan’s free time, he enjoys hiking and running with his dog Naz. He is also an avid sports fan.
Marie Yanchak — Marie is a master’s student at the University of Florida Honey Bee Research and Extension Lab. Marie has a background in commercial beekeeping and joined HBREL in 2024 after completing a B.S. in both Entomology and Agricultural Leadership & Development at Texas A&M University. Marie’s graduate research with Dr. Cameron Jack focuses on optimizing current methods of oxalic acid application for the control of Varroa destructor.
