Corona del Mar’s Luca Fasulo proud to represent at Boys Nation
With the onset of the new school year, it’s natural for high school students to catch up with each other and ask how their summers went.
Corona del Mar High senior Luca Fasulo definitely has some stories to tell.
Luca attended American Legion Boys State in Sacramento in late June, learning government from the township to the state level.
He was recommended by his AP U.S. history teacher at CdM, Laura Mayberry. His school counselor who submitted the application, Charles Oyas, was on the same page.
“He’s responsible, mature, smart, dedicated, has a good heart,” Oyas said of Luca. “I know it sounds cliche, but he really does fill all of those. He’s an all-around great young man. I would give him my car keys and not worry about if he was going to do anything stupid.”
At the conclusion of Boys State, Luca found out he got an even bigger honor. He was selected as one of two incoming seniors from California selected to attend Boys Nation, which offers a similar program at a federal senate level.
Luca spent a week in the Washington, D.C. area, from July 22 to 29. He had the opportunity to tour the nation’s capital and see national monuments. But more than that, he participated in the American Legion Boys Nation Senate.
Luca was one of several Boys State attendees honored Tuesday night at American Legion Post 291 in Newport Beach, which sponsors the program. He said he’s invited back in a couple of weeks to speak more on his experience.
Boys State featured more than 800 participants, including three from CdM. The program got going right away, with a mock bar exam on the first day.
“Luckily, it’s not as tough as the first bar exam, but you do have to study for it,” Luca said. “It was pretty competitive. There were some kids that didn’t pass. From there, you try out for anything from district attorney to being on the Supreme Court.”
Luca said he had two goals going into the experience: getting into the Senate and being president pro tempore, or going to Boys Nation. But he knew both would be tough.
He ran for both editor-in-chief and the party secretary for the Whig party at Boys State. He was elected to neither, but kept working.
“Out of 24 cities, 14 representatives were Federalists and 10 were Whigs,” he said. “As a Whig, I was in the minority. I knew I had to do something to get the pro tempore spot, but it wasn’t very likely. I made the effort by going county to county, city to city, seeking out these senators and trying to convince them of my goal.”
His platform of finding common ground ended up resonating, and he was eventually elected as pro tempore by a 13-11 vote.
“I just remember all of the Whigs jumping up and cheering, so overjoyed,” Luca said, adding that his counselor at Boys State, Dale Major, told him it was the first time that the pro tempore had come from the minority party in 24 years.
The last time it happened, the student was selected for Boys Nation. History repeated itself for Luca, who also is a captain of the CdM boys’ soccer team — he plays center back — and activities commissioner for ASB, among other activities.
“I wasn’t the smartest kid there, and I wasn’t the most knowledgeable on government process or politics or the current climate of our country,” he said. “But I was able to implement some of the things I’ve learned in leadership through Youth & Government, through ASB, and all of the leadership roles through soccer. That ended up being what the important lesson was, really. I believe that’s what got me to Boys Nation.”
Mayberry said she thought Luca would be perfect for the program. Last school year he would visit her before or after school to talk about politics, even relating things that the class was learning about to contemporary things that were happening.
“He’s confident and he’s articulate, and that’s really going to resonate when you get [to Boys Nation],” she said. “He’s the perfect representative of our school and our community … I’m a pretty big fan. I try to keep him grounded, but it’s hard because he’s pretty perfect. He conducts himself with integrity and he leads by example.”
Luca said he found the Boys Nation program stimulating. Before last year, most of his knowledge of government and politics came from participating in Youth & Government for three years.
He ended up introducing a bill related to temporarily banning a pesticide that was killing bees in California.
“Having these conversations with people from all different backgrounds and cultures and political views, those are really defining moments,” he said. “It’s run exactly like the U.S. Senate. We have to go through committees, then we go to the floor. We’re lobbying for bills behind the scenes. It’s really full-on.”
Luca said that visiting the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, which is arranged by the American Legion, was a highlight of his trip. The Boys Nation members were unable to meet with President Joe Biden at the White House because the president had COVID-19 at the time.
He also participated in a Capitol Hill Day that he won’t soon forget.
“Walking around the halls and seeing a flag from California, a flag from Texas, a flag from New Jersey, it all brings it really to life,” he said. “Just being in that controlled chaos environment has inspired me, definitely helped me see where I want to go in the future with my career in politics.”
Luca added that Sons of the American Legion National Commander Michael Fox, from California, served as a tour guide for the four Boys Nation and Girls Nation representatives from California.
The trip has clearly inspired Luca, who recently joined the Youth Leaders Political Action Committee as the Orange County representative.
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