Stories from Banting’s Basement: Week 1

Hello! I am Patti Nagle, and as you may have seen from our Instagram post, I am the new summer intern at Banting House National Historic Site of Canada.  

Before coming to Banting House, I received my Honours Bachelor of Arts degree in History and Business at the University of Waterloo. Here I took a variety of courses in Canadian, American, and Medieval history to develop my research and writing skills. While pursuing my undergraduate degree, I was able to work at the County of Simcoe Archives. At the archives, I developed a love for working with collections and the public on research projects. This was my first experience in the heritage field, and where I decided to pursue a career in this line of work. 

After my undergrad, I went to Sir Sandford Fleming College in Peterborough for the Museum Management & Curatorship post-graduate certificate program. This is a hands-on program where 75% of classes are at the Peterborough Museum and Archives. In the in-class portion of this program, I was able to develop the skills needed to intern at Banting House by taking courses in exhibition development, collections management, education programming and administrative work. Check out my portfolio for some of the work I did during the program.  https://patricianagle.wordpress.com/

I stumbled upon this internship when I first visited Banting House on November 14, World Diabetes Day. I grew up just outside of London and when I was home one weekend, I wanted to visit a museum in my area. So, with a quick Google search of “Museums in London”, I came upon the Banting House. When visiting, I met the curator and mentioned I was a museum student from Fleming. He was so enthusiastic to see a student from the area, he told me to keep in contact if I ever wanted to intern at Banting House. 6 months later here I am!

I look forward to the next 14 weeks at Banting House where I will take part in preserving the legacy and impact of Sir Frederick Banting. 

Check back every Friday for more updates on my experience in the basement of Banting House.