Ko Eun Nancy Um | PhD candidate, French Studies
For Ko Eun Nancy Um, a PhD student in French Studies at the University of Waterloo, research is driven by a desire to better understand identity, culture, and the stories that shape how we see the world and our own experiences in it.
“My academic journey has not been straightforward and has been influenced by personal challenges and different work experiences,” she explains. After beginning a Bachelor of Arts in Music at Western University, she stepped away from her studies and later pursued Hotel Management at George Brown College, which led her to work and travel across the Middle East and Asia for several years.
“I really enjoyed these experiences, but they also helped me realize what I truly wanted to do in the long term, especially my interest in teaching French and working with adults.” Combined with her personal connection to French after settling in Montreal in the late 1980s, this realization led her to complete a BA in French and pursue graduate studies in French and cultural research.
Researching Indigenous voices and artistic expression
Ko Eun Nancy Um’s PhD work is grounded in a thoughtful awareness of her own positionality. “I am an immigrant who wants to learn more about Indigenous cultures while living on their lands. My goal is to become an ally and to help promote the artistic work that Indigenous artists share with everyone.”
Her research focuses on Indigenous solo artists in Quebec and how their work expresses identity, history, and perspectives connected to reconciliation. “Being a mom and having 3 children has made me think more about identity, family history, and the stories that are sometimes not shared,” she says.
Her interest deepened through engagement with Indigenous storytelling, leading her to explore how artists communicate across literature, theatre, and media. “There are many voices and many forms of expression, which show how rich and complex Indigenous experiences are.”
Advancing understanding through research
As an immigrant to Canada, Ko Eun Nancy Um brings a perspective shaped by her journey navigating language, culture, and identity across different contexts. These experiences inform her research and deepen her commitment to learning from Indigenous voices and understanding how storytelling, language, and lived experience shape identity and reconciliation.
She hopes her research “shows that what we learn from Indigenous art is an important form of knowledge and can help support meaningful conversations about reconciliation.”
Finding support and opportunity at Waterloo
“My experience at the University of Waterloo has been very positive,” she says. “I feel very supported by my supervisors (Dr. Nicole Nolette and Dr. Joëlle Papillon) and by the department.” This supportive environment has created opportunities to grow as a researcher and engage with broader academic communities — “I’ve had the opportunity to present my research at conferences across Canada and Europe.”
For Ko Eun Nancy Um, graduate studies have opened unexpected academic and professional pathways, where meaningful work has emerged through exploration rather than a linear route. She sees clear parallels between this and Indigenous storytelling, where multiple voices and forms of expression reflect the richness and complexity of Indigenous experiences. She hopes her work will help others better recognize this complexity and engage more thoughtfully in conversations about reconciliation.