The UC Berkeley student from Del Mar who was in Nice, France, on Thursday was confirmed Sunday as one of those killed in the Bastille Day attack, according to university officials.
Nicolas Leslie, who graduated from Torrey Pines High School, had been studying in Nice as part of UC Berkeley's Study Abroad program. He was identified Sunday by the FBI as among the 84 people killed.
"Nick was, by all accounts, a very affable guy," said William Morrow, a friend and Berkeley classmate.
He was "one of those people who would just always have a smile on his face, could carry on a conversation with anyone," Morrow said. "He was extraordinarily passionate about the environment. It was inspired by growing up where he did in San Diego along the ocean."
Morrow, the student body president, was organizing a campus vigil Monday afternoon for Leslie. "To create a space for the Berkeley community to come together, mourn, grieve, engage collectively with emotions," he said.
Another UC Berkeley student, sophomore Tarishi Jain, 18, was killed July 1 when gunmen stormed a cafe in Bangladesh.
"It’s been a very difficult past couple of weeks on campus," Morrow said. "We’ve lost a couple 'Bears,' and it has really brought the violence of the world home to our community."
Leslie, 20, was one of 85 participants in a summer entrepreneurship program. Unaccounted for since the truck attack in which another 200 were injured, he had been the subject of an extensive search by university staff, local officials and family.
His death was reported to campus officials by the FBI, which was notified by its French counterparts earlier Sunday.
"This is tragic, devastating news," UC Berkeley Chancellor Nicholas Dirks said. "All of us in the UC Berkeley family, both here on campus, and around the world, are heartbroken to learn that another promising young student has been lost to senseless violence.
"I join Nick's parents, friends and the entire campus community in condemning this horrific attack, and in mourning the loss of one of our own," Dirks said in a statement.
Leslie, an environmental sciences major, had been planning to begin studies at the Haas School of Business in the fall. Counselors were on the ground in Nice, where some 60 Berkeley students remain, and were available to speak with students on campus.
