Roll Call Tribute

(Posted on) the Battalion (on) September 5, 2016

Zhong-Hao Chen
July 31, 1990 — May 26, 2016

An avid sports fan who put loved ones first

Posted: Monday, September 5, 2016 11:23 pm | Updated: 11:42 pm, Mon Sep 5, 2016.
By Chris Martin

Remembered for his kind spirit, selfless personality and hardworking nature Zhong-Hao Chen actively embodied the Aggie Spirit in everything he did.

While pursuing a master’s degree in civil engineering, Zhong-Hao stayed very active in the Taiwanese Students Society, badminton club and basketball. He enjoyed eating at Wingstop, Chick-Fil-A and Chicken Express. He also liked listening to old-Chinese music and loved to sing karaoke.

William Chen, Class of 2014, met Zhong-Hao through mutual friends last September and said Zhong-Hao’s favorite part about A&M was the sports.

“He went to most of the sports games if he had time,” William said. “He went to basketball games, he went to a couple football games as well — sports was one of his passions.”

Patrick Yu, a computer science senior and close friend of Zhong-Hao, visited Zhong-Hao’s parents shortly after he died and said he deeply valued their friendship.

“After [Zhong-Hao’s death], I went to Taiwan to meet his parents,” Yu said. “They said it’s a disappointment and he had very ambitious dreams that he wanted to conquer. Zhong-Hao is the one that you always think about when you need a friend and when you need comfort. He will come to you first — he is a very caring person.”

Oscar Cheng, a chemistry Ph.D. candidate, said he first met Zhong-Hao last May and wanted to be his roommate because he seemed like a very honest and trustworthy man. Cheng said Zhong-Hao truly cared about everyone he met and enjoyed his company.

“I would say he’s very positive and his personality spreads to the people around him,” Cheng said. “He always takes care of others — for example when you go out with him, he will always insist to drive, even if he is really tired. I admire his positive mind and the way he encouraged others.”

When Cheng met Zhong-Hao’s parents, he said it was evident that he resembled his father’s personality — very polite and always caring for others. Cheng said his favorite memory with Zhong-Hao was getting furniture soon after they first met.

“He was very adventurous and he always wanted to try new things,” Cheng said. “I remember there was a big give-away of furniture at Grace Bible Church for international students. So Zhong-Hao and I went to the church the night before and slept outside.”

William said Zhong-Hao was always there for his friends when they needed him and was really supportive. He remembers a time when Zhong-Hao drove all the way to Houston on a moment’s notice to pick him up from the airport.

“There was one time when I was flying back to Houston and one my friends was supposed to pick me up at the airport in Houston but something came up and he couldn’t come,” William said. “Zhong-Hao told me that he would drive to the airport and pick me up then drive me back. It shows how he cares about others and that is something I really admire about him.”

Katrina Wu, Class of 2016, said she got to go know Zhong-Hao after two summer snowboarding trips. She said he loved adventure and was a loyal friend.

“He was very supportive to us friends, very adventurous and very athletic,” Wu said. “He also is a very hardworking student who stayed at the library [some] evenings doing homework and projects and he always takes his friends home after this study. He is like a big brother and very caring.”

Jason Lin, computer science Ph.D. candidate, said he got to know Zhong-Hao by playing badminton with him. Jason admired how Zhong-Hao was passionate about his involvements and made time for everything he wanted to do while balancing school.

“I was in charge of the badminton club and I didn’t even go to all the practices because I had homework,” Lin said. “He would try to make time for everything he wanted to accomplish and that’s one thing I really learned from him.”