Student Experience

How 1 Hoo led to 7

When Carrie Chia begins her first year at the University of Virginia this month, she’ll complete an unusual family streak: Every cousin in her generation has attended UVA.

“Before I’ve even unpacked my first box in the dorm, there’s already this version of me that’s been walking around Grounds for over 20 years, just through my cousins,” Chia said. “My family has spent decades building something there, and now it’s on me to figure out what I add to it.”

The streak began with Chia’s eldest cousin, Lawrence Lee, who earned a degree in chemical engineering in 2000. He was followed by Susan Lee, mechanical engineering, in 2002; Tiffany Yang, who earned a bachelor’s in environmental sciences in 2009 and a master’s in 2010; Jonathon Lee, environmental sciences, in 2012; Chris Lee, computer engineering, in 2019; and Chia’s brother, Thomas Chia, computer science, in 2026.

“Lawrence really paved the way, going to community college first, and then transferring to UVA,” Yang said. “That was our earliest exposure to college.”

Yang is 12 years younger than Lawrence Lee, so UVA was part of her childhood long before she became a student herself. Her family made the roughly two-hour drive from their home in Tappahannock to visit Charlottesville, and she remembers walking the Lawn and eating on the Corner. Among the keepsakes from those trips is a cloth napkin from a meal at Sakura Sushi & Noodle.

Collage of photos of the Lee family at UVA, including a graduation photo, one in the snow and a wedding

Yang, known as Tiffany Lee during her time at UVA, appears during her first year, at Final Exercises and during “Snowmageddon” in 2010. Yang earned her bachelor’s degree in environmental sciences in 2009 and her master’s in 2010. (Contributed photos; illustration by Meredith Michael Smith, University Communications)

“There was no question for the rest of us on where we would apply and ultimately where we would go,” Yang said.

Still, the cousins say attending UVA was never a family requirement. In fact, it wasn’t until years later that they stopped to consider just how unusual their shared history had become.

“I actually didn’t even realize it until I think Tiffany brought this up to us last Christmas,” Chris Lee said. “She’s like, ‘Oh, I just realized that our whole generation on Dad’s side of the family all went to UVA.’”

Bringing UVA home

Yang now has two young sons. At her parents’ Virginia home, the family’s UVA diplomas hang in a hallway. At her own home, orange and blue make frequent appearances, and UVA stickers have found their way onto her sons’ water bottles.

For a time, she even sang “The Good Old Song” as a lullaby.

Collage of photos of the Lee family at UVA, including a with a basktball, at a football game and a group graduation photo

Chris Lee, a 2019 computer engineering graduate, embraces UVA life as a student, from joining the Hoo Crew to traveling to Minneapolis to watch the Cavaliers win the 2019 NCAA men’s basketball championship and celebrating Final Exercises with friends. (Contributed photos; illustration by Meredith Michael Smith, University Communications)

“It was what came to mind when I needed to get them to calm down and go to bed,” she said.

She jokes she might be starting the next generation early.

“I’m trying to indoctrinate them,” Yang said.

Tradition without expectation

For all the orange-and-blue influence, however, the cousins say there was no expectation that everyone would attend UVA.

“We are not a very pressure-heavy family,” Chris Lee said. Their parents, he said, encouraged them to forge their own paths.

Carrie Chia felt the same freedom. Despite growing up with UVA stories and visiting Grounds, she applied to other universities and was accepted elsewhere.

“I didn’t want to just default into it,” she said. “When it came down to it, though, UVA didn’t feel like the safe or expected choice; it felt like the one I actually wanted.”

Having six cousins go before her does provide Carrie Chia with something other first-year students might not have: more than two decades of accumulated advice.

Lawrence Lee recommends enjoying college, but not attending “too many parties.” Chris Lee encourages her to embrace UVA traditions, even the ones that might initially seem a little strange.

“Do those wacky things,” Chris Lee said. “You meet new people, make new connections, create memories. That’s what college is all about.”

Collage of photos of the Lee family at UVA, including a family photo and one at John Paul Jones Arena

Lawrence Lee, left, a 2000 chemical engineering graduate, shares his UVA connection with his wife, Joanne, also a 2000 chemical engineering graduate, and their son, Bowen, a high school junior interested in attending UVA. At right, Carrie Chia, the youngest of seven cousins in her generation, begins her UVA journey as a member of the Class of 2030. (Contributed photos; illustration by Meredith Michael Smith, University Communications)

Chris Lee took his own advice. As a student, he camped outside in the Charlottesville winter for ESPN’s “College GameDay.” During his fourth year, after UVA defeated Purdue University in the Elite Eight of the 2019 NCAA men’s basketball tournament, he and his roommate bought tickets to Minneapolis to watch the Cavaliers win the national championship.

Carrie Chia says her brother had a recommendation of his own.

“My brother would not stop talking about steak night at Runk,” she said.

Now, after years of hearing everyone else’s UVA stories, Carrie Chia is ready to create her own.

“I like being part of something that started before I was even born,” she said. “But 25 years is a long time, and the UVA my oldest cousin knew isn’t quite the same place I’m about to walk into. I want to respect that history, but I’m not trying to just repeat it either.”