Maxwell Hazlett’s body was discovered early Saturday morning on Second Avenue, about one-fifth of a mile from The Promenade towers on South Figueroa where he lived. A 2001 Punahou graduate, Hazlett was a junior at the University of Southern California majoring in language.

Honolulu attorney Mark Hazlett and his wife, Dorothy, and Maxwell’s mother, Louise Woodcock Hazlett of New Zealand, did not learn of their son’s death until yesterday because no identification was found on the body.

"He was very positive, gregarious and outgoing," Mark Hazlett said of his son. "He loved language and politics and was looking at combining the two into a possible career."

Maxwell Hazlett could speak German and Spanish was studying Mandarin. He spent last summer in Taiwan and was planning on returning this summer, his father said.

Dorothy Hazlett added, "It’s just devastating. He was an outstanding student."

The Hazletts are going to Los Angeles, where they will meet with police and hold a memorial service Saturday at USC for their son. There will be a a memorial service May 29 at Punahou, said Mark Hazlett.

News of Hazlett’s death shocked faculty at Punahou, who remember him as an "engaging and diligent student who was a good friend and classmate," said Laurel Bowers Husain, the school’s director of development and communications.

"Punahou is deeply saddened to learn of the death of Max Hazlett," Husain said. "Our aloha goes out to his family as they cope with his sudden loss."

Lynn Tsuda, Hazlett’s dean at Punahou, said he was articulate, worldly and witty.

"History classes were Max’s special love in high school," Tsuda said. "According to one social studies teacher, Max would arrive in homeroom with a history trivia question for his teacher and she usually had one ready for him as well.

"The playful interaction was at the foundation of Max’s relationship with this teacher," Tsuda added. "He loved to discuss patterns of human experience, loved to ask questions, and was electrified when engaged in historical conversation.

"... Friends will remember him as an affable fellow who listened with a caring ear, who shared his sense of humor with them, and who cared deeply about his friends," Tsuda said.