Hongming Cao and Will Zhao would drive to the Finger Lakes region in central New York almost every weekend just to see the sky — its openness, its calmness, its beauty. This sky was something new to both of them, as they were used to the most industrial parts of China, where the air is often filled with smoke and pollution.

“We don’t have skies like that in China,” said Zhao, a junior in the College of Arts and Sciences at Syracuse University.

But last October was Cao’s last time driving to the Finger Lake region and seeing that sky. A month before, he had been diagnosed with a brain tumor, which prevented him from engaging in too much activity. Over Winter Break, he had surgery in his home country of China. Then he died at his home in Shenzhen, China — which is near Hong Kong — on Tuesday. His death came two days before his 22nd birthday.

“He was very easygoing and generous,” Zhao said. “He was like a big brother to me.”

Cao, a junior economics major both in the College of Arts and Sciences and the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, was described by those around him as an optimist who loved to tell jokes. In his spare time, he played the computer game “League of Legends” and listened to hip-hop and R&B. Cao’s favorite artist was rapper Lil Wayne, said Zhao, Cao’s roommate.

Cao and Zhao met when they were freshmen living in Brewster/Boland/Brockway Complex (BBB). They were the only two students from China on their floor. Soon after they first met, the pair became friends and started eating meals, taking road trips and going to class together.

“I am very picky about my friends. Intentionally, I did not want to make a lot of friends because I thought relationships and friendships are unnecessary and meaningless,” Zhao said. “But Hongming to me was a person I could share everything with, all my secrets — and I did.

“No matter how mature I feel about myself at any certain point in my life in college, he could always solve a problem in a very quiet, efficient and peaceful way. He was a master at solving problems,” Zhao said.

Marvelle Meng, a graduate student in the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, said in an email that when she first met Cao he told her some jokes. She thought he was handsome and fun. They started dating soon after.

“Hongming was a positive and optimistic man, who always spread his smile to people around him,” Meng said. “I was moved by his positive energy and smiles. He lived without worries, and always looked forward.”

After Cao and Meng started dating, Zhao said it was obvious that they cared about one another.

“I could see from his eyes sometimes how he loved her,” Zhao said.

When Cao returned to school for the spring semester after having surgery, Meng said Cao was in a lot of pain. The medicine he would take would make him vomit and unable to eat. He became quiet, Meng said, because he could not hang out with his friends as much as he did before the surgery.

“He became stronger to face the unfairness of life,” she said.

A memorial service for Cao will be held on Thursday at 4 p.m. in Hendricks Chapel. The service will be filmed and sent to Cao’s parents in China, according to an email sent out by the Slutzker Center for International Services. The center will close that day at 3:30 p.m. so staff can attend the service.

Published on April 24, 2016 at 10:26 pm

Contact Rachel: rsandler@syr.edu