Meet the Chatham University student who turned his beekeeping hobby into a business that pays his tuition

Anthony Ondo used to show up at local landowners’ homes with a bottle of honey and a simple request: “Could I put a few beehives on your property?”

A recent Shaler Area High School graduate, Mr. Ondo was trying to grow his personal apiary. What started as an interest in beekeeping grew into a full-out entrepreneurial endeavor.

Several years later, Mr. Ondo now manages a 50-hive apiary spanning from Fox Chapel to Bakerstown.

And by selling the thousands of pounds of honey he harvests every season, he’s able to fully cover his tuition costs at Chatham University.

“It’s such a rewarding feeling to know that I have something that I built and can be proud of,” Mr. Ondo said.

Beekeeping first drew Mr. Ondo’s attention during his senior year of high school, when he helped his friend’s grandf