Remembering ChenWei Guo

November 13, 2017

The School of Computing honors the memory of ChenWei Guo, an aspiring computer science student, good friend, and remarkable individual.

ChenWei’s life was taken in a senseless act of violence near the university on October 30, 2017, devastating those knew him and the local community.

ChenWei was studying computer science and entrepreneurship and worked as a peer advisor helping students in the U’s International Student and Scholar Services Office. He hoped to open a consulting business to “help more people feel good about themselves.”

ChenWei was born in Beijing, China, and came to the U.S. in 2012. He graduated from Timpview High School in Provo, Utah, and then served a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Provo. ChenWei transferred to the U from LDS Business College this fall. He enjoyed skydiving, skiing, horseback riding, dancing, and modern fashion.

I only talked to him a few times via email and Facebook as I was his mentor. ChenWei had a bright and kind personality. He was so excited about the Mentorship Program that he replied to my Greeting email in just a few minutes. I remember he told me that he wanted to apply his CS knowledge to build an app that could make the world a better place. Not only that, he was also a peer advisor for the International Student & Scholar Services Office. He was very involved and active on campus. It’s very sad to accept the fact that he was killed in such senseless act.
Mia Ngo

I was a TA for ChenWei in the Computer Science department and he was always a pleasure to work with and a very bright student. We were lucky to have ChenWei as a student and he will be missed greatly by his fellow students and teachers.

My deepest condolences,
Matt Canova

I had the pleasure of teaching ChenWei in his introductory Computer Science course last spring. While this was a large, lecture-style course, we had several pleasant conversations during the semester. I was struck by his cheerful demeanor, his curiosity and desire to learn, and his intelligence. I would like to express my deepest condolences to his family and friends for his loss.

David Johnson
Assistant Professor, School of Computing