Simon Farruqui ’25
An experience testifying before lawmakers on Boston’s Beacon Hill sparked an interest in the political process for Simon Farruqui ’25, pushing him toward a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for peer leadership.
Simon joined recent graduate Hugo Eechaute ’24 at the Massachusetts State House in the spring to advocate for financial literacy education for children in schools across the state. While looking for summer activities this year, he learned about the highly selective Boys State and Boys Nation, youth leadership and citizenship programs sponsored by the American Legion.
“I was looking at summer programs that were in the realm of political science or law,” he said. “Before that, I was heavily involved in economics, but after the hearing at the State House, I realized that there are a lot of opportunities to work in the public policy side of things, so I wanted to get involved.”
Following a week-long Boys State session at Stonehill College in the early summer, Simon campaigned and was elected by more than 250 peers to represent Massachusetts as a senator at Boys Nation, a week-long conference in Washington, D.C., which gave attendees an immersive look at the American political process in action. He is the first student from Milton Academy to become a Boys Nation U.S. Senator.
To win his election and ultimately the spot at Boys Nation, Simon created campaign signs and adopted an issues platform, and engaged in a series of debates on a range of political topics.
“It was a pretty tough process,” he said. “It was three days of campaigning to win the vote of 260 boys I’ve never met before. I made posters, handed out business cards, and was as prepared as I could be.” He also created a campaign website featuring his stances on several issues.
Being active in the Economics and MicrofinanceClubs at Milton helped prepare Simon for questions about the economy, inflation, and the Federal Reserve. His experience with Model U.N. helped him understand the complex parliamentary procedure of the sessions he joined at both events. In addition, teachers like Perin Gokce, Matthew Petherick, and Gregg Deehan gave him a strong foundation in American government, history, psychology, and campaign strategy.
At Boys Nation, Simon joined 99 other senators—from a total of 20,000 Boys State attendees— from across the country. Each senator contributed to discussions and unique perspectives about how major political issues affect their own states and regions.
“One of the highlights was getting inspired about the future of politics,” he said. “I was interested in the different issues that people from different states were passionate about. That kind of passion ignited a sense of unity and coming together to solve problems. We engaged in civil discourse, whether we were in session or eating lunch, or just hanging out—seeing that respect and civility from young people is very inspiring to me.”
