8th Grade Beekeeper Saves School From Swarm

ROCKY MOUNT, N.C. – An eighth grader at Rocky Mount Academy has been beekeeping since she was nine years old.

She stepped up for her school after a swarm of bees came to campus and wouldn’t go away. According to the student, it was just like any other day.

“We had to keep the kids inside during that time because of the safety hazard,” Rocky Mount Academy Head of Upper School Timmy Tucker said.

Tucker doesn’t know how the bees got to this courtyard at Rocky Mount Academy, but he says there were enough to give you the heebie jeebies.

That’s when Katelyn Boone – an eighth grader and a certified beekeeper – stepped in.

“Not a lot of people do beekeeping at my age, so it’s really fun to share it with my peers,” Boone said.

She stepped in to capture this swarm at her own school.

Her story starts at nine years old.

“I asked my dad if we could get another dog and he said ‘no,’” Boone said.

So naturally, bees were the next best thing.

Boone learned most of what she knows from the Wilson County Beekeepers Association. It even roped her Aunt into joining too.

Now, they have their own hives to take care of, including the  batch of bees that came from her school.

Tucker will tell you it was heroic. But for Boone, it mostly felt like any other day.

 Though, in some ways, this was a right of passage.

“It was really exciting because that was actually our first swarm by ourselves,” Boone said.