Advancing Science, Humanities, and the Arts

Author: Vy Vuong

Photo: An excerpt from the Post-It Project, part of Write for Heart at The George Washington University (GW), co-founded by Vy Vuong and Rachel Faye Zuckerman.

Image Alternative Text: Lavender Post-It note with handwriting, "You are alive!! There is love waiting to be felt. There are good days waiting to be lived. Keep going. @writeforheartgw." The note is on a table beside the book, Bloom: Flowering Plants for Indoors and Balconies, by Lauren Camilleri and Sophia Kaplan.

Early Exposure to STEM/STEAM

Throughout much of my early academic experience, I didn't have much interest in science. I think that this was because I was mainly interested in the arts, books, and music. I found myself much more interested in poetry and jazz than I was in organic chemistry.

During my sophomore year of high school, I took Advanced Placement (AP) Psychology, and I believe that this was my gateway into the world of STEM being interlinked with the humanities. I fell in love with the class and everything about the brain down to its atoms. I loved psychology because it felt like the perfect symbiosis between science and humanities. Further during high school, I realized that I wanted to pursue health care after I read the late Dr. Paul Kalanithi's beautiful memoir, When Breath Becomes Air. I spent most of my youth buried in books, and this memoir opened my eyes to the world of medicine.

During my senior year of high school, I achieved my Medical Assistant (MA) certification alongside challenging courses like International Baccalaureate (IB) Chemistry and IB Biology; however, I found a consuming love for my IB Literature class as well. I asked questions about the world in a way that was encompassed by understanding the world to its cells. Furthermore, I understood the complexities of the creative minds of the authors whose works I loved. At that time, it felt like I had to choose one or the other, where I'd have to let one dream die for the other to flourish.

I began working as a Certified Clinical Medical Assistant (CCMA) under a gastroenterologist (GI) surgeon, and I learned skills that would further my trajectory as a pre-medical undergraduate student. In my spare time, I found myself reading, and writing in my journal.

Finding and Pursuing Dual Passions

During the critical college/university application time, I felt that I wouldn't be capable of pursuing the humanities after I had spent so much energy on STEM courses and working as a CCMA. In my day-to-day life, surrounded by those whom I'd grown up with, I was met with stigma regarding creative fields, including writing. I was constantly informed phrases such as, "Artists are starving," "They make no money," and "People that pursue STEM are doing to lead much more successful careers." However, I was determined to pursue both disciplines.

I applied to The George Washington University (GW), where I currently attend, pursuing dual majors and degrees—Neuroscience and English. During my first semester, I pursued courses that challenged me in both disciplines. I've realized that STEM, humanities, and the arts can and do coexist.

I now have friends that are applying to colleges/universities, some achieving acceptance at their dream schools and some not, and others going through similar stasis where they are sacrificing passion for something that they believed would make them more successful.

I tell them often, if I could go back and tell myself anything, it is that you will be just fine. To anyone that is considering pursuing both fields, or disciplines that are wildly different, do it. Even if your dreams feel like nonsense, nonsense is its own kind of sense. They are your dreams for a reason and they are important because they are your dreams. If you are passionate about something, even if it feels scary or difficult, it's all possible and that in and of itself is a beautiful thing.

I thought that this was a unique experience until I entered university.

Photo: Rachel Faye Zuckerman (left) and Vy Vuong (right)

Co-Founding Write for Heart

On October 2, 2024, I received a text message at 6:30pm from a classmate in my abnormal psychology course—it read, "Hey Vy! I have an extra Gracie Abrams ticket. Do you want to go tonight?" I had the best night of my life listening to Gracie Abrams perform at one of my favorite venues with Rachel Faye Zuckerman, my best friend and co-president of Write for Heart at GW.

Rachel and I spent a day together studying for our Abnormal Psychology course, and we ended up walking around the Creative Writing and English Department at GW, where we came across a pamphlet of poetry that featured work from students. Rachel and I are both Neuroscience majors; however, we connected through our love for writing, our belief that it's a positive outlet, and how it contributes to our personal mental health. That day, we co-founded the student-run organization at GW, Write for Heart.

Our goal is to build a student-run organization that showcases works of poetry, essays, and other forms of writing from traditional and non-traditional creative writers. We strive to find and create works that are uplifting, especially during a time when morale is low in the District of Columbia.

A few weeks later, we launched our first project, a "Post-It Project," where we wrote 400 notes with phrases such as, "Your dreams are important" and "You've already survived 100% of all the days that you thought you wouldn't." We chose post-it notes because we thought that it would easily catch others' attention.

As the project continued, we developed a larger quantity of notes that read phrases such as, "We appreciate you" and "Thank you for all that you do," sharing them around campus for GW Emergency Medical Services (EMS), the campus deli, and photographically through social media (@writeforheartgw on Instagram), where we were able to reach a large audience. Many students on campus tagged @writeforheartgw and shared that the notes made their days.

We are planning future projects, and are developing a website to share works from the GW community and outside of GW. We want to be able to launch Write for Heart chapters at other educational institutions, and include local high school and middle school institutions. Our goal is to share writing in a way that is uplifting, inclusive, and accessible. While doing so, we will share mental health resources that are easily accessible.

It is our hope that Write for Heart is able to give back to the communities that we love.