Van Truong has a different way of studying than reviewing notes and making flashcards.
The UF anthropology sophomore turned her biology notes into Vincent Van Gogh’s “Starry Night” in December on a whiteboard in Smathers Library during finals week.
“I can explain chronologically the order of where I placed each word on that Starry Night replica better than a sequence of events in evolutionary history,”wrote Truong, 19, in an email.
Truong is applying for a grant with the Bob Graham Center for Public Service to bring the arts and sciences together.
“This is an opportunity to suggest something simple, like displaying more student created art in libraries that could positively affect the students at our university,” wrote Truong, who once studied materials science engineering.
Some students have taken notice. Rea-Lynne Starbird, a UF physiology and kinesiology sophomore, said she quickly snapped a photo of the “Starry Night” masterpiece and posted it on Facebook. It received more than 1,000 likes.
“It caught my attention immediately,” Starbird, 19, wrote in an email. “It was stunning, even more beautiful than the picture I took.”
Truong said she plans to continue making the masterpieces with or without the grant.
“If I’m not awarded this grant,” she said, “you’ll still find me creating more Vincent Van Gogh replicas from my class notes on whiteboards in the library.”
[A version of this story ran on page 8 on 1/14/2015 under the headline “UF student combines art and science to study for exams"]
Van Truong, a 19-year-old anthropology sophomore, poses next to the “Starry Night” art piece she made on a whiteboard with her biology notes. Truong is applying for a grant within the Bob Graham Center for Public Service to bring the arts and sciences together.
