“It’s an excellent program. It’s a lot of fun. It is hard work, but it’s definitely doable for a working professional.”
Dan Ronneberg wears many hats. He’s a regulation analyst at the FAA, a JD holder who does legal work … and a hobbyist beekeeper with 10 (yes, 10) hives.
Barely two weeks after completing his online Master of Science in Entomology and Nematology with Graduate Certificate in Beekeeping from the University of Florida, the West Virginia resident shared why he sought out an entomology program and how UF captured his attention.
Why a Busy Beekeeper Went Back to School
With 10 hives and a full-time job, Ronneberg already had his hands full. So why go back to school for beekeeping?
“I was a little frustrated, because in the beekeeping world, there’s lots of word of mouth,” Ronneberg explained. “There’s one mentor beekeeper telling you that you should absolutely do this and another saying, ‘If you do that, you’ll kill all your bees.’”
“I’m an analytical guy,” he continued. “I’ve got several other advanced degrees, and when I do something, I want to do it well. And I’m [thinking], there’s got to be studies out there. There’s got to be an academic foundation. Peer-reviewed material. I know there are experts doing this, and I’d like to know what they say.” Ronneberg found what he was looking for with UF.
An Entomology Program With Award-Winning Faculty
Ronneberg knew of UF’s entomology faculty before he applied to our program. “UF has some award-winning faculty in the beekeeping program,” he explained. “Dr. Ellis and Dr. Jack are very well known in the beekeeping community. Dr. Ellis isn’t teaching in the distance program, but I did get to interview him as one of my assignments. A lot of the program materials were produced by Dr. Ellis.”
“Dr. Jack is fantastic. He ended up being my advisor. We’re publishing a paper together. That was my capstone project. The faculty meant a lot, not just because they were famous names. They’re very well respected [and] very well read.”
Ronneberg eagerly shared his enthusiasm about UF’s faculty with his beekeeping peers. “They’re like, ‘Have you met Dr. Ellis? Have you met Dr. Jack?’ And I’m, ‘Yes, actually. I’ve had like six classes with Dr. Jack. He’s my professor. And Dr. Ellis gave me a lot of really interesting perspective and was very generous with his time.’”
UF’s Entomology Degree With Specialized Certificate Stands Out
Ronneberg valued another aspect of UF’s program: its uniqueness. “It wasn’t just a certificate program; it was also a master’s that was broader than beekeeping itself. I’m not knocking the beekeeping certificate, but being able to do a master’s with a beekeeping specialization — oh my gosh!”
“I’ve looked. No one else has [a program like] it. It doesn’t exist. And I was actually the first guy to graduate with the master’s and the beekeeping specialization. The first person to go all the way through the program. I thought it was amazing. That really drew me to it.”
“I wanted to do the entomology degree because of how bees and beekeeping fit into the broader science of entomology. It was really important to me and really interesting. My professional life has nothing to do with this. It was just a joy to learn something completely out of my wheelhouse.”
An Online Format That Works for Working Professionals
Even though he owns a second home in Florida, Ronneberg found attending a campus-based UF program impossible. “I know UF is a good school, but to be able to do the program, it had to be a distance program. I’m an adult professional, right? I work full-time. If I wanted to do this, I couldn’t sit in the classroom even if it was [in West Virginia]. So, the fact that UF has this online program that’s largely asynchronous was really important.”
“Some courses that I had, they filmed sessions where they were delivering the class to classroom students and then we were watching those videos. That was fantastic. We submitted our assignments and were able to participate with the class while it was going on. The variety of methods they used to integrate online students was really great. I was very impressed.”
“The professors and the distance education coordinator really made a strong effort to make the online program very engaging. Dr. Kluiters, in particular, really went above and beyond in making her materials engaging and having a variety of activities that distance students were able to accomplish and participate in. I didn’t feel like I got cheated out of the classroom experience.”
A Teaching Experience That Reinforced Learning
Ronneberg got an unexpected bonus with his degree: teaching experience.
As a teaching assistant for one Dr. Jack’s online classes, Ronneberg “got the experience online that I would’ve gotten on campus as a graduate student if I wanted to TA. And Dr. Kluiters has said they’re going to do that going forward in the program as a professional development course.”
Ronneberg raved about his experience as a teaching assistant:
“I got really good, hard questions from undergraduate students, which helped me know the material inside and out. If you want to learn, one of the best ways to do it is to teach somebody else the material, right? I got to do all the things that a real TA does — grading papers, responding to student questions. I learned how to work Canvas. It was a great experience.”
Considering Your Own Online Entomology Graduate Program?
Here’s what Ronneberg wants you to know: “You can take one class a semester. It’s certainly doable in your spare time, instead of watching a TV show for an hour a night. I highly recommend it!”
Browse UF’s online entomology degree specializations now.
