Welcome, Ben and Mae!

Earlier this month we welcomed two new interns, Ben Nyland and Mae Fernandes, who will be with us in Athens until April. Ben’s main project is to continue the digitization of documents for the Institute’s archive, while Mae is concentrating on updating and correcting the Institute's library catalogues.

Ben Nyland is a graduate of British Columbia’s Simon Fraser University where he studied archaeology. In the future he plans to continue his studies of archaeology at a graduate level.

Through his undergraduate career Ben slowly began uncovering his interest in history and the ancient world. His interests lay primarily in the monumental architecture left from centuries of Greek life, as well as the many marine sites which inhabit the adjacent waters, and how ancient remnants interact with modern peoples of the area.

While in Greece, Ben plans to obtain a more comprehensive and immersive understanding of Greek culture both modern and otherwise. He also intends to learn more about archaeology in practice to further refine his plans for future topics of study.

Mae Fernandes is in her third year at the University of Waterloo, majoring in Classics with a business minor. Her main area of interest is Greek philology, language and literature. Having encountered Greek drama in high school, she decided to take an introductory Greek course in her first year as a prospective history major. Through this course, Mae discovered a passion for languages that led her to pursue her interest as a major. In the future, she hopes to continue to learn how to better incorporate art history and other areas of Classical Studies in her understanding of peoples and societies through language and literature.

Through her experience at the Canadian Institute in Greece, Mae looks forward to gaining a more direct experience of Classical art and architecture outside the classroom and within a Greek culture.

Jonathan Tomlinson
Assistant Director