Arlo Fravien is on his way to Washington, D.C, to prove he is the most civics-focused middle schooler in the country.
Fravien, 13, recently won the California state championship competition of the National Civics Bee, hosted last month at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley.
That means the incoming Walton Intermediate School eighth-grader is spending the next four months studying every day for the national championship in Washington, D.C., scheduled for November.
Walton Intermediate School student Arlo Fravien won the state championship in the National Civics Bee. He will represent California in the national finals in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG) Walton Intermediate School student Arlo Fravien won the state championship in the National Civics Bee. He will represent California in the national finals in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG) Show Caption1 of 2Walton Intermediate School student Arlo Fravien won the state championship in the National Civics Bee. He will represent California in the national finals in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG) ExpandIn addition to working from a study guide — packed with topics covering founding principles and branches of government — Fravien studies civics topics on YouTube and watches civics bee competitions from other states to prepare to represent California in the national championship.
“I feel proud and honored that I get to represent California because when I entered the competition, I wasn’t sure I was going to get first place,” Fravien said.
To get to the D.C. bee, Fravien had to win the California competition, which saw middle schoolers compete in two rounds of multiple-choice questions about constitutional amendments, federal government and laws before five finalists were selected to present community problems and their ideas for solutions.
Fravien proposed a “trash force,” a coalition of volunteers to clean up the Orange County parks.
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New bee tested students on civics knowledge; OC winners now headed to state Nixon Foundation’s $40 million plan to add to American civics lessonsFravien has already done the work.
He is part of a college and career prep program at Walton, where he is required to complete community service hours. The middle schooler and his father, Romain Fravien, pick up trash around local parks as part of that required service.
And after winning the statewide competition, Fravien is getting more involved.
He gathered volunteers for his first volunteer cleanup event in June at Haster Basin Recreational Park in Garden Grove, Fravien said.
He created flyers and reached out to local organizations to draw people into his event. His friends and family, as well as Kiwanis Club members and OC Parks Rangers, helped with the clean-up event.
As did Garden Grove Mayor Stephanie Klopfenstein and members of the City Council after he presented his project idea to them, said Johnathan Garcia, public information officer for the City of Garden Grove.
“A lot more people showed up than we thought would, and we got a lot more done than when it was just me and my dad,” Fravien said. “It felt good that I was able to get more people involved in a major problem in my community, helping deal with it.”
Romain Fravien said he appreciated seeing the small-scale activity with his son branch out into an engaging community project.
“One of the reasons I like to take them to do trash pickup,” the older Fravien said, “it forces you to see your community in a way that’s different than other volunteer work. Anything where it’s forcing you to think about how others live or how others interact, I always think is a good way to show kids about their community.”
This was the first time California participated in the national competition, said Richard Schroeder, chief education programming officer for the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute, because of the institute’s involvement.
The National Civics Bee is not yet in all 50 states, but 2025, the competition’s third year, saw turnout from 39 states, according to its website.
The competition is intended to bolster youth civic knowledge and participation as a part of a nationwide effort from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation, according to a press release.
Schroeder, who attended the state finals, said he felt Fravien set himself apart from the competition the most with his poise on stage while answering the judges’ questions during the question-and-answer period.
This section, Fravien said, was what made him most nervous. He noticed he got many of the questions wrong and almost did not make the top five. Fravien said he found the questions more difficult than in the previous regional competition, where he placed second.
But Fravien said his speech about his trash cleanup idea was what made him the most confident. He was the last person to present, he said, so seeing other kids read from cards before him, instead of having their speeches memorized like he did, boosted his confidence.
It did not hurt that Fravien had a plethora of family and friends in the audience — his parents, aunt, uncle, cousins and teachers — holding cut-out signs of his face, cheering him on.
Walton history teacher Ashley Stevens encouraged Fravien to apply for the competition. Stevens, who also coaches Fravien on the academic pentathlon team, knew he was a strong presenter and therefore anticipated his success.
“He’s always willing to share unique ideas and answer questions in ways that seem very insightful,” Stevens said. “He’s always thinking of the bigger picture, so I think that gave him an edge for the civics bee because he’s able to think outside the box.”
The competition helped show off talent from everyday students who, free from conceptions around grades or college concerns, are kids who care about the U.S. and its history.
“When we engage our young people and allow them to think about ideas that can make our communities better places, it just allows us to go to the future of our country,” Schroeder said. “And that’s what the Civics Bee is really all about in my mind.”
Romain Fravien said his son has always demonstrated an interest in civics and history outside of school, saying he frequently reads books around the house on various stories and maps throughout history.
Support from not only his parents but his teachers — and ultimately the city — empowered Fravien throughout the process, and the competition is something Romain Fravien said he thinks will stay with his son for a long time.
“It’s not so much that it helped him win the competition, but it’s showing him a positive way to interact civically,” Romain Fravien said. “People empowered him, and I think that’s going to live with him forever.”
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