Masuk Free Press

As the class of 2026 progresses into their final year here at Masuk, majority of seniors are consumed with the overload of college applications, sports and their Capstone Projects. At Masuk, the Capstone Project is a graduation requirement that is student driven and presented to the members of the Monroe community. It can come in many different forms: conducting research, exploring future careers or maybe even just coaching little league soccer. 

Two Masuk seniors in particular, have decided to get a firsthand look at democracy in action for their project. Chris Yuskas and Sienna Jones have been working on a political campaign alongside Monroe’s first selectman candidate, Leon Ambrosey, learning directly what it takes to be a part of the political process. 

“Leon was previously on the planning and zoning committee so he decided to run for first selectman,” Jones explained. “He’s building his basis on improving school systems and fixing the roads since they are so bad in Monroe.”

When working on their Capstone Project, Yuskas and Jones both contribute as a part of the voter outreach committee. 

“I’m on the volunteer outreach team so we write letters to people while also figuring out strategies to get people on our side and vote for Leon,” continued Jones. “In the upcoming weeks, there’s a town picnic that’s meant for families and the voter outreach team to get people on board with our platform.”

As a part of their learning process, both students have seen up close how voting works and the importance of it. 

“Something that we do on the campaign is dividing up the age groups, so I focus on younger individuals,” said Jones. “We’re focusing on setting up texts, because of absentee ballots and people being away for college it’s really important for us to focus on early voting.”

Not only are the students helping put a younger perspective in the political process, but they have managed to meet some influential people. 

“I went to this dinner at the Stone Barn at Whitney Farms where I met one of our state senators and I met the Lieutenant governor which was so cool,” said Yuskas. 

“We had the opportunity to speak with Senator Richard Blumenthal and he offered to write us a letter of rec,” Jones shared. “He mentioned that it’s really important for youth to be involved in politics even at a local level. I never even expected to meet a Senator with such a big influence from just my Capstone Project.” 

After meeting with Senator Blumenthal, many teachers at Masuk High School have been impressed with the work of these seniors. 

“Mrs. Coville heard about our experience and shared it with our AP Lit class,” said Jones. “It was so cool for her to share it with other people and I felt really proud and excited to continue working on it.”

Additionally, this opportunity allowed Yuskas to see the impact of politics far beyond the facts learned during his AP Government and Politics class. 

“I thought it was all so interesting to learn because I feel like in school, I only really have focused on national politics during AP Gov and not really local,” said Yuskas. “It really opened my eyes to the difference between processes at a local level compared to national.”

However, as both students are seniors, balancing this experience with other responsibilities has not been easy. 

“I already had to miss many swim practices just to go to capstone meetings, and the workload to balance my school work, my job, swim and capstone can be overwhelming,” shared Jones.

Yuskas also found some parts of this experience equally challenging.

 “It was a little stressful talking with all these politicians and sometimes I didn’t really even know what they were talking about, so I would have to research and learn a lot of new things,” said Yuskas. 

Even though it was intimidating at first, Yuskas viewed each moment as a learning opportunity that helped him grow more comfortable in professional settings. 

“At the dinners, there’s a lot of attention on me because I definitely was the youngest person there and everyone seemed very refreshed to see someone new,” shared Yuskas. “A lot of people offered advice about college and steps after that I just felt like could be something that I could be part of in the future.”

Both Jones and Yuskas hope to take the crucial lessons they have learned from the campaign into their future careers. 

“As I’ve gotten more into it, I realized that it’s definitely something I’d want to pursue in the future,” said Yuskas. “So far my plan is to be a political science major, and then after that potentially run for office, maybe as a backup go to law school.”

Like Yuskas, Jones has a similar interest in pursuing the political field. 

“I’m not sure what type of law I’d like to go into, but I definitely know I want to major in political science and go to law school after that,” shared Jones.

For Jones and Yuskas, this project has been more than just a simple school assignment. It has shown them that young individuals can play an active role in shaping the world around them. Whether through law, politics, or even service, both students have bright futures, striving to use their voices to create change beyond the classroom walls.