Navigating the Political Mainstream : Congress: Former Villa Park swimming standout is having the time of his life as an administrative assistant to Rep. Christopher Cox.

Lance Larson stood on the floor of Congress-- the Congress--with one of those pinch-me-I-think-I’m-dreaming expressions. Looking over the nearly empty room, where the political give-and-take goes on, he gave a sigh of satisfaction.

“I still get goose bumps,” Larson said. “You see this on TV, but you can’t believe what it’s like unless you’re here.”

Larson is here, all right. In the thick of it.

For nearly a year, Larson, a former swimmer at Villa Park High School and USC, has worked for Rep. Christopher Cox (R-Newport Beach), first as an intern and now as administrative assistant.

His job entails a lot of schedule juggling, people greeting and trouble shooting. It also involves some anxiety mixed with spellbinding fascination.

“There never is a typical day around here,” Larson said. “There’s always something going on. It’s stressful and it’s great. I love being here. You’re in the front line.”

Larson wasn’t drafted for this duty, he volunteered.

A year ago, he was living an almost stereotypical life of a Southern California kid. His job: lifeguard for the City of Newport Beach, a position he held for seven years.

It was a natural career for a guy who spent nearly 18 years as a competitive swimmer, but Larson felt he was just treading water. So he decided to dust off that degree in public administration he had received from USC.

His brother, Greg, had interned for a representative and Larson decided that was worth looking into. As luck would have it, a friend was working for Cox at the time and told Larson that an internship was available.

It was almost too easy. He started in January, unaware of what he was walking into.

“I get back there and landed right in the middle of the Persian Gulf debate,” Larson said. “There were protests and bomb threats and the whole debate and then the vote. I couldn’t believe the pace.”

Larson adjusted quickly. His warm personality and accommodating ways make him ideal for daily dealings with the public.

By March, he was such a fixture in the office that Cox offered him a full-time job.

“Lance is a star in diplomacy,” Cox said. “He gets along famously with Orange County visitors who come to Washington. I’ve received more compliments about him than anybody I’ve ever seen.”

Larson’s job is a catch-all positio n. He does a little bit of this and a little bit of that, sometimes in large proportions.

When Congress is in session, Larson’s day begins at 8 a.m. and sometimes lasts until 10 p.m. He opens mail, deals with constituents, helps coordinate the nine-member staff and, when necessary, meets with people on Cox’s behalf.

“I really enjoy working for a public office,” Larson said. “Seeing the problems and, hopefully, helping solve them. A lot of people at USC go straight into the private sector, make lots of money and just don’t worry about what’s going on. I think they should be concerned.”

Larson, 24, the oldest of four sons, didn’t enter USC with the idea of finding a niche in public service. He went to be a swimmer.

He was a standout at Villa Park, where he reached the Southern Section 4-A finals in the 100-yard butterfly as a junior. In fact, he still holds the school’s sophomore record in the butterfly (50.9).

Although his senior year of swimming was cut short by a knee injury, he received scholarship offers from UC Santa Barbara, UC Irvine and the University of San Diego. However, he decided to walk-on at USC, more for family tradition than anything.

His father, Lance Larson Sr., a silver medalist in the 100-meter freestyle in the 1960 Olympics, swam at USC and all four of his sons have followed. Lance Larson Jr. swam 2 1/2 years for the Trojans, but decided to give up competitive swimming as a junior.

“I had reached a plateau where I wasn’t going to get any better,” Lance Larson Jr. said. “There isn’t a big future for swimmers after college. I had to think about life after swimming.

“I had taken a public administration class as a sophomore and loved it. I took another and another and, all of a sudden, I was majoring in it.”

Now, he’s practicing it.

“We always thought Lance would go into some outdoor career,” Lance Larson Sr. said. “He always told me he didn’t want to wear a coat and tie. Even when he went to Washington, he didn’t think he would stay. He had his return flight already booked before he left.”

Then Larson got caught up in the Washington pace.

“It’s amazing to see the government in action and what actually goes on,” Larson said. I’ve been very surprised. That’s why it’s so exciting to be here now. I think there’s going to be big changes in our government.”

Larson said he intends to stay in Washington at least two more years. After that, who knows? He has even thought about a political career, possibly on the local level.

But one thing is certain: He’ll never look on the government in the same way.

“You learn about the government in high school civics,” Larson said. “This has been a good lesson.”