Environment and Arts student, Eloise Fan, reflects on how studying her twin passions led not only to a BES, but also to academic distinction
For Eloise Fan, studying at the University of Waterloo was never about choosing a single path — it was about creating one that merged her passions for theatre and climate change.
As she graduates with a joint honours degree in Environment, Resources and Sustainability and Theatre and Performance (co-op), she is being awarded the Alumni Gold Medal for outstanding academic achievement in the Faculty of Environment as well as the Departmental Award for distinguished academic achievement.
Raised in Hong Kong and born in Australia, Fan came to Waterloo as an international student, drawn by the rare opportunity to study both her passions at a high level, and to test those interests in the real world through co-op.
Over her four co-op terms, she worked with Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada on First Nations climate adaptation and environmental policy, taught outdoor education and collected ecological monitoring data at the rare Charitable Research Reserve, and supported backstage operations and stage management at Tarragon Theatre and the University’s own Theatre and Performance program.
“I don’t think I’ve ever had two jobs that looked the same,” she laughs. “But all of them taught me something about how people work together, how stories are told, and how we care for the places we live.”
That spirit of interdisciplinarity carried into her coursework. Her final-year thesis in the Faculty of Environment used forum theatre, a participatory form of performance, to explore climate anxiety and community-based resilience. On the flip side, she brought in climate change themes through essays in her theatre courses.
“ERS318: Photography for Sustainability was another course highlight,” she says. “I used photography to explore how sustainable material choices in set design could reduce environmental waste in the arts. It was a class that let me see environmental communication through a different lens. I think those moments of crossover helped define my degree.”
Her academic work was only one part of a vibrant campus life. From serving on the Environment Resources and Sustainability Student Association (ERSSA), to mentoring younger students at orientation and helping shape curriculum through the SERS Undergraduate Education Committee, she was an anchor of community for many peers.
“I found so much meaning in giving back — helping others feel welcome, helping them find their footing,” she says. “Student organizations create this special kind of intergenerational knowledge. It was really powerful to be part of that. As students, we hold so much collective strength, and we need to remember that.”
In 2023, she spent a double work term abroad on academic exchange at the University of Wollongong in Australia, taking courses in environmental crime and justice, Indigenous Peoples and the environment, ocean policy, and theatre and politics. “It was an incredible chance to apply everything I’d learned at Waterloo in a new context. It helped me realize just how connected my disciplines really are.”
Blending theatre and environmentalism has become more than just an idea — it is her mission. Since finishing classes, Fan has begun work in the theatre industry. Her first show was The Assembly, a production that uses theatre and a board game format to teach sustainability and decision-making to middle school students. The show was recently nominated for multiple Dora Awards. Now she is working on Waitress at the Capitol Theatre in Port Hope and plans to stay in Canada for the foreseeable future to explore what’s next. Wherever she lands, collaboration will be at the center.
“If I’ve learned one thing, it’s this: working across disciplinary boundaries is one of the greatest strengths we can develop. We are living in a world where the extractive systems of capitalism and colonialism are intrinsically linked to climate catastrophe and genocide in Palestine, Sudan, Congo and so many more places. You can teach hard skills, but how we solve problems together, how we relate to each other, that’s what the world needs more of.”
“There’s no official job called ‘climate change theatre,’ but I think that’s part of the point,” she says. “Our generation is inventing new kinds of work, and I want to make art that contributes to change. Art is what makes us human, and art is also resistance. I’m figuring out how to keep merging these worlds.”
When it comes to looking back at how she got here, she is quick to credit others: Environment professor, Dr. Rob de Loë, and Director of Production & Theatre Operations, Janelle Rainville, who mentored and encouraged her, fellow students who inspired her and, above all, her parents.
“They’ve supported me from the other side of the world — every step of the way. I literally wouldn’t be here without them.”
As for what she’ll miss most about Waterloo? It’s the little moments. “Hanging out at the ESS coffee shop or in the theatre green room… sometimes getting work done, sometimes not. Seeing the geese on campus.”
Fan along with 400 of her peers will have their achievements celebrated at the Faculty of Environment convocation on Tuesday, June 10. As a parting thought to her fellow classmates and future students, she offers: “Don’t be afraid to follow two passions, even if they don’t make sense at first. There’s strength in crossing boundaries. That’s where some of the most meaningful work begins.”
