There’s something about Jordan Dubeck, Arts ‘26, that’s certainly buzzworthy. It could bee that the recent biological sciences graduate has found her fascination with animal behavior through bee research.
“It’s so fascinating how advanced bees are for such a small creature,” Dubeck says. “Especially when people think about insects as being these mindless drones or honey bees as having this hive mind where they’re all just one thing, but it’s actually their ability to differentiate themselves and have their own minds and societies that’s really cool to me.”
Over the past two years, Dubeck has found her focus on the complex creatures through Dr. Chelsea Cook’s bee lab where students explore the mechanisms of social behavior in a changing environment through the world of bees.
The Cook Bee Research Lab studies fanning behavior. This work helps scientists understand how these important pollinators work together to keep their societies functioning, and what impacts humans may have on them while managing their colonies.
Dubeck has excelled in helping with this type of hands-on research.
“My absolute favorite project is the one where we study how group size impacts cooperative behavior,” Dubeck explains. “We were seeing how different group sizes of honey bees were interacting with each other differently based on how many bees were in the group. We saw that as the group size was getting larger, they were more likely to segment themselves into subgroups and then have certain individuals run from group to group sharing information, and with that, they tended to be more efficient at the fanning behavior.”
As one of her professors and mentors, Cook, assistant professor of biological sciences, says Dubeck was an incredible student with unique fascinations.
“She brings a level of passion and enthusiasm to understanding the intricacies of how animals work together, and that is an incredibly powerful characteristic,” Cook says. “If you have the ability to ask good questions and then go find those answers, you can go anywhere. And that’s Jordan.”
Dubeck recently earned Honorable Mention in the prestigious National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship program. The proposal was on how information spreads in societies, using honey bees as a model system.
From ambassador to peer mentor
One of the most meaningful experiences for Dubeck, outside of working on research, was being a part of the A&S Student Ambassadors and Arts & Sciences Peer Mentors programs.
While participating as an A&S Ambassador during her sophomore year, she met Kalyn Gackowski, student success coordinator for the Klingler College of Arts and Sciences.
“I enjoyed every second I worked with Jordan,” Gackowski says. “She is the epitome of the word ‘leader.’ I had the opportunity to mentor Jordan during her ambassador work. Through that connection she was the first person I thought of recruiting for the inaugural peer mentor program I developed that piloted in the fall of 2024.”
From ambassador to peer mentor, Jordan eventually transitioned into a more strategic role as the first mentor coordinator who would not only connect with students but also support with developing and leading the mentor team via communication, data collection and partnership alongside Gackowski.
“Through her work, I decided the peer mentor program needed to lean into student leadership,” Gackowski says. “I developed a new structure for the program helping amplify the work, build community and create more opportunities for leadership and consistently in the program. Her work will continue to build a legacy. It’s an honor to have her as a founding member of a program that I know will continue to make a difference.”
Without a doubt, Dubeck made the most of her time at Marquette and now looks back at the learning experiences she will carry with her into the next chapter.
“I’ve really seen the ability to build a different community,” Dubeck says. “Every single one of my friends is in a different major and we’re all interested in such different things. Having the capability to spread joy and knowledge to the community, through those outreach behaviors has been great, which I know Marquette emphasized a lot in their service aspect.”
The 22-year-old’s journey continues at the University of California, Riverside this fall, where she was accepted into the entomology Ph.D. program. Awarded the “Dean’s Distinguished Award” for financial support, Dubeck will focus her research on honey bees for the next five years.
