Three’s never a crowd in The ARC

It’s often said that good places are made by good people, and for Julia Kao, Wan Lo and Adrian Chen, Carnegie Mellon proved to be a great place.

And with one of them now gone, a spot on CMU’s campus now serves as a permanent reminder of their friendship.

The three friends, all of whom earned undergraduate degrees at CMU in the mid-1990s, were inseparable since forming their bond “before the creation of the internet and smart phone,” Julia says.

“We did everything together in person,” she says. “After graduation, some returned to Hong Kong while some stayed in the U.S. and Canada. It’s been over 30 years, but we managed to stay closely in touch.”

While Julia credits their tenure at CMU for solidifying their friendship, their shared sense of humor kept the good times rolling.

Early on in their time as undergrads, Julia decided to make a steak dinner at Wan’s apartment for the group. She found steak in Wan’s fridge and got to work making steak au poivre, recalling that she needed baking soda to tenderize the meat and cornstarch to thicken the sauce.

“I found no cornstarch but did find baking soda in his fridge,” she says. “So I tenderized the steak and made the pepper sauce using the baking soda as well.”

“Wan was excited as he took his first bite, then paused and asked me how I prepared everything. When I told him I used the baking soda from his fridge, his face almost turned green! That’s when I learned the other purpose of baking soda — to absorb odors!”

Though cooking may not have been the group’s strength, connection and caring certainly were. That’s why, when Adrian’s health began deteriorating in early 2024, Julia and Wan knew they wanted to put their love for their friend into action by honoring the group’s connection to CMU.

“Adrian was a very generous yet humble person. He had been contributing anonymously to support CMU over the years,” Julia says. “Wan and I wanted to contribute to Carnegie Mellon in his honor so that he could, in a way, be recognized for his generosity and love for the school.”

And so, The ARC in TCS Hall was brought to life.

TCS Hall is CMU’s home in Pittsburgh for the Master’s of Science in Computational Finance program — Julia and Wan both earned the degree in 2000 — and according to Julia, naming an interview room in the building “The ARC” is a true nod to the trio’s close, and often silly, friendship.

“We have another friend who bears a striking resemblance to a character from one of our favorite animations from Hong Kong, “Dr. Slump.” The show centers around alien activity, so this friend’s apartment — where we spent a ton of time — became known as the Alien Research Center: ARC!”

Julia said she and Wan hope that with this gift, their legacy of lasting friendship is honored and remembered — and most importantly, serves as a reminder to current and future Tartans that good places are indeed made by good people.

“It feels like just yesterday that we met on campus but it’s been over 30 years,” Julia says. “We were at each other’s weddings, entered parenthood, supported each other’s careers and spent many New Year’s Eves together counting down. We attended each other’s graduations despite graduating in different years. This is all thanks to CMU, which brought us together.”

In loving memory of our beloved AC, Adrian Chen.