At Chatham University in Pittsburgh, Pa., Anthony Ondo is proving that sustainable agriculture doesn’t have to wait until after graduation.
Between night classes, lab reports and coursework, the 22-year-old, studying sustainable business at Chatham University’s Falk School of Sustainability, manages a 50-hive apiary of his own, Ondo Apiary LLC, and oversees Chatham’s growing university apiary, all while championing best practices in sustainable beekeeping.
“I’m a full-time student, so I build my schedule around both,” Ondo says. “I work on my own hives two to three days a week and handle the Chatham apiary on Fridays. Time management is everything.”
For Ondo, the apiary isn’t just a campus feature — it’s a living, buzzing classroom and a model for self-sustaining agricultural programs. Since taking over operations last fall, he’s introduced a more structured approach to colony management, trained student assistants and begun developing the apiary into a nucleus colony producer. The goal? To generate revenue through local honey and nucleus colony sales, ensuring the apiary’s financial stability well into the future.
“I want the program to stand on its own,” Ondo says. “Universities sometimes have to cut funding for smaller programs, but if we can produce and sell locally, we can pay for equipment, workshops and student labor ourselves.”
Under Ondo’s leadership, the Chatham apiary now emphasizes integrated pest management (IPM), a holistic, ecologically sound approach to controlling pests that affect honeybees, especially in Western Pennsylvania. The focus on IPM links directly to Chatham’s broader mission of environmental stewardship, integrating practical education with sustainable science.
Workshops, open to students and occasionally community members, serve as both outreach and education.
“I want students to gain real-world skills,” he says. “It’s not just about keeping bees; it’s about managing an operation responsibly and ethically.”
That ethic of care traces back to Ondo’s mentor, Tom Owczarzak, an experienced beekeeper and family friend who ran more than 150 hives at his business’s peak.
“He treated every colony as if it were his only one,” Ondo says. “He taught me that you can scale up and still do things the right way — sustainably, ethically and with respect for the bees.”
Owczarzak’s approach extended beyond the hives. He built relationships with customers, dropping off gift baskets of hive products at the holidays and turning business into community.
“That’s something I’ve tried to carry forward,” Ondo says. “If people trust you and enjoy working with you, the business takes care of itself.”
Like many in agriculture, Ondo started small with just two hives, a mentor’s guidance and a willingness to learn. The paperwork to start an LLC felt intimidating at first, he admits.
“I almost didn’t do it,” he says, “but once I got past that first hurdle, every small success gave me the confidence to take on the next challenge.”
That mindset now shapes the advice he offers to other aspiring agricultural entrepreneurs.
“Don’t wait, find mentors and embrace failure as growth,” Ondo says. “Every mistake is a lesson. Every success builds momentum. You just have to start.”
