Ambassador Killed In Libya Went To School In East Bay

(Editor's note: A Facebook page from Libya laments the ambassador's death.)

The United States ambassador killed in Libya Tuesday night was born and raised in Northern California, according to his official biography on the State Department’s website.

Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens was a 1978 graduate of . He graduated from UC Berkeley in 1982 and from Hastings College of Law in 1989. He joined the foreign service in 1991.

According to a statement from Piedmont High School Principal Richard Kitchens: 

"He is remembered at Piedmont High as a former editor of the award-winning Piedmont High School newspaper, The Highlander. He was an outstanding student, active in the PHS Model U.N. club, as well as active in the A.F.S. club. He was also active in all the musical productions at PHS and was featured in the quartet in 1978's The Music Man."

A quote from Stevens that accompanies his 1978 yearbook photo reads, "What a bore it is, waking up in the morning always the same person. I wish I were unflinching and emphatic and had big eyebrows and a Message for the Age."

Stevens has deep roots in Northern California, going back to his .

Stevens spent much of his diplomatic career in North Africa and the Middle East, according to KTVU. Between graduating from Cal and getting his law degree, Stevens taught English in Morocco as a Peace Corps volunteer.

University of California Berkeley Chancellor Robert Birgeneau issued a statement on Stevens' killing, saying in part that: "His life epitomized the best of UC Berkeley’s graduates, a commitment to excellence at the highest level and a passion for making the world a better and more peaceful place."

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