Nicole Medina of Sussex County, N.J., was recently named 2019 American Honey Princess, the first time someone from New Jersey has been named.

Medina was the 2018 New Jersey Honey Queen. Her new role will allow her to travel around the country to promote the importance of honeybees.

The Newton High School graduate traveled to the Florida State Fair in February to represent the industry.

“It’s wonderful that we have someone from New Jersey who will be an ambassador in educating the public about the importance of honey bees for society,” says Doug Fisher, state ag secretary. “Nicole has extensive experience with honeybees and fully understands the essential role they play in agriculture.”

Medina, who is a student at Sussex County College, has been a beekeeper for six years. She and her father, Joel, currently have 11 hives. She had concerns about getting stung when she started handling bees at age 13, but that fear is long gone.

“I’ve only been stung once in my lifetime,” she says. “Honeybees don’t want to sting you because if they do they will die. Honeybees are gentle. They don’t want to hurt us.”

Medina says she was apprehensive during the competition at the American Beekeeping Federation Conference in Myrtle Beach, S.C., but her expertise in beekeeping helped her stand out.

“I was extremely nervous going into the banquet,” she says. “I had been working for this for so long, it was almost surreal that it happened. It’s a knowledge-based competition. You have to have at least basic bee knowledge and they also evaluate you as a presenter and on interacting with the public.”

That interaction is something she’s looking forward to.

“They told me that normally there will be about 340 days away from home,” she says. “I can’t wait to get out and see the country.”

BEE ROYALTY: 2019 American Honey Princess Nicole Medina is currently studying business at Sussex County College. She hopes to continue her education at Rowan University in Gloucester County.

Because of the extensive travel, she will share the spokesperson role with Hannah Sjostrom of Wisconsin, the 2019 American Honey Queen.

“We do hit all 50 states and we are trying to go everywhere that requests us,” she says. “We are co-equals and there is a lot of work to do.”

Medina is currently studying business at Sussex County College and then hopes to continue her education at Rowan University in Gloucester County majoring in marketing and communications. Regardless of where she goes, Medina is confident bees will be a part of the future, too.

“I plan on keeping bees as a hobby no matter where I go,” she says. “I really have a passion for it, and no matter where I end up, I’ll have some in my backyard.”

Source: New Jersey Department of Agriculture, which is solely responsible for the information provided and is wholly owned by the source. Informa Business Media and all its subsidiaries are not responsible for any of the content contained in this information asset.