Senior story: Oshri
Bee-ing on a mission at Duke and in Sierra Leone
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Durham, NC -- Oshri Hakak ’09 is a psychology major who loves music and, while at Duke, developed an interest in … bees.
As a psych major, Hakak sought out research opportunities. He worked two years in Professor Warren Meck’s psychology lab, researching time perception and prenatal nutrient supplementation in rats.
Hakak, from Los Angeles, is also an oboist, and studied with a former New York Philharmonic oboist while at Duke. He not only plays oboe in the Duke Symphony Orchestra, he also was the founder of the Duke Chamber Players. That group, comprising only students, likes to play campus venues where they can bring classical music to a wider audience, such as the library’s Perk café,.
Bees were not something Hakak was looking for when he came to Duke. In fact, it was while planning to go to Sierra Leone in West Africa the summer after his junior year that he first got interested in bees. A friend had asked him to assist with an effort to help Sierra Leonean farmers with beekeeping through a program called BeeFreed LLC, which Hakak now directs.
In preparation for his trip, and to gain beekeeping experience beforehand, Hakak formed the Duke Apiary Club and set up two beehives in Duke Gardens. The club now operates 10 hives.
