Most Boston College students look forward to the weekend as a break from the weekly school grind. They use their time to sleep, hang out with friends, or catch up on homework and studying.
One BC senior, however, leaves campus every weekend and makes the 3-hour drive to Putnam County, N.Y. He spends Friday, Saturday, and Sunday knocking on doors and going to rallies before heading back to BC to start the school week again.
At 21 years old, Zachary Couzens, MCAS ’25, is currently the Democratic candidate for the New York State Assembly 94. Alongside his work as a full-time college student, Couzens is also currently running a political campaign in his home district.
“My plan is either Thursday nights or Friday mornings, I’ll take the three hour drive back home, campaign Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and then I’ll either come back Sunday night or early Monday morning,” Couzens said. “And, you know, repeat.”
Originally from Mahopac, N.Y. Couzens grew up with a Democratic mother and Republican father, which he said made politics extremely relevant within his family. Beyond that, his native Putnam County is largely red, meaning Couzens’ Democratic beliefs create even more dialogue within the area.
“I’ve always been interested in politics since I was young,” Couzens said. “The joke I like to make is that because I’m from a red area, I was the only Democrat in my 4th grade class that wanted Obama to be re-elected, which is kind of something I like to point out.”
While Couzens spent almost the entirety of his upbringing in public schools, he transferred to a private school after his freshman year of high school, a change he said propelled his education and ambitions.
But as his junior year rolled around, so did the COVID-19 pandemic. When both of Couzens’s parents were hospitalized due to COVID, he decided to seek out what legislation was being put through to stop this crisis.
“We were actually one of the first four cases of COVID in our county in New York, like March 2020,” Couzens said. “Everyone’s okay now, but both my parents got sick and were hospitalized. But my point with that is how politics and policy and actions obviously all matter to each other and was what really propelled me into paying attention even more.”
After high school, Couzens continued to pursue his passion for politics at BC, majoring in political science and minoring in American studies. From the very beginning of his college life, Couzens said he was an extremely curious person, trying to stack his schedule with every class possible.
Elizabeth Bracher, director of the Courage to Know program, met Couzens when he registered for classes his freshman year. Because of COVID restrictions, each academic program had a breakout room online that students could join if they were interested. When Couzens joined Bracher’s breakout room, he immediately wanted to know how many seminars, Courage to Know, and Enduring Questions/Complex Problems classes he could take.
“He was so excited about this idea of bringing together this coursework from all of these different points of view, and he was so curious about all of them,” Bracher said. “Sometimes you’re registering a student who you’re just trying to pull from them what they might be interested in and to find a class that you hope excites their sense of curiosity. Zack is led by curiosity.”
From there, Couzens took on a heavy course load, enhancing his curiosity and picking out classes that excited him. During the summer after sophomore year, Couzens interned at his state senate office, which he said gave him a glimpse into the life of public servants and how much government officials could impact others.
But his life changed in February of his junior year when he received an offer from the Putnam County Democratic chair, Jennifer Colamonico. She had met Couzens’s mom through a political Facebook group, and after staying in contact for a number of months, Couzens’s mom decided to connect him with Colamonico about getting involved in politics.
Her team had been looking for a Democratic nominee to run for the New York State Assembly 94, and Couzens had struck her as a good candidate—someone new, young, and energized.
“Zach just popped into my mind,” Colamonico said. “Obviously you could tell he was going to run for office some day. He kind of just has that—it’s in his blood, it’s in his lineage, it’s in his whole essence. And I see a lot of myself in him, in terms of somebody who’s going to change the world, who’s going to take it on no matter what.”
When faced with the offer from Colamonico, Couzens confessed that he was hesitant at first. He was unsure if he would be up to a task so large, not only as a 21-year-old, but as a full-time college student as well.
“I first thought it was crazy because, you know, how could someone my age even run?” Couzens said. “Then, I gave it some thought, and I was like, ‘You know what? Let’s do this. Let’s show that we can have more young people that are invested in their future, invested in their peers’ futures, and that do want to get involved.”
Couzens admits that he had plenty of new things to learn about campaigning, such as figuring out which reporters to contact, learning how to fundraise, and holding rallies.
Thankfully, he has amassed a team in New York, including Colamonico, who advised him throughout the process. Dubbed “the wonderkid” by his advisers, Couzens’s campaign has already earned him the nomination as the Democratic candidate for his district.
“You know, at the beginning, we spent a lot of hours talking about expectations and approaches and what you need to do and what you need to think about doing,” Colamonico said. “He’s made some decisions on his own with our council. He’s hired a consulting firm which a lot of candidates aren’t able to do or don’t think about doing. I think it shows his commitment to winning that he was willing to do that.”
Couzens says a large part of his weekend is spent knocking on the doors of people all over Putnam to spread awareness about his campaign. Before the start of his senior year, he said he knocked on 600 doors in the span of six days.
“Even when I’ve spoken to people across the board, there’s a lot of support for when I tell them I’m 21,” Couzens said. “There’s a lot of support for a young person running, and they all agree we need new blood.”
At each door he knocks on, he proudly hands out his campaign flyers with his name and a simple message: “For a Bright Future.” On the back, he lists his goals as an assembly member: improving housing affordability, fighting for improved school funding, protecting the environment, and supporting women’s reproductive freedom.
While some might think these goals are too broad, Couzens said they all share a common, single thread: community. This focus on community is nothing new for Couzens, Bracher said.
“The sense I have from when he decided to run was that he’s not coming in with an agenda or with an idea that he’s getting in there to do a particular thing other than listen to his constituents, listen to the community, and serve them to protect the common good and to protect democracy,” Bracher said. “And democracy only survives with representation, and he wants to represent the people in his community.”
As he prepares for election day, Couzens admits that it will be a tough race. His opponent, incumbent Republican Matt Slater, runs a campaign focused on repealing New York’s cashless bail law, protecting the southern border from illegal immigrants, and giving parents a stronger voice in the education of their children.
Though the Putnam area is historically Republican, the majority caucus in New York is largely Democratic. Couzens said he believes in the importance of sending an official whose goals align with the caucus in order to increase productivity.
“My point with that is that if you want someone that can actually deliver, you should send someone that’s in the majority caucus so they actually have the interests of our area heard much more than someone that might get ignored,” Couzens said.
Ultimately, Couzens said he wants to stress to BC students that it is entirely possible to participate in government, no matter their age. It doesn’t even have to be running for an official position—volunteering at rallies, sitting in on town meetings, and staying up to date on local issues are all parts of civic participation.
“Whatever happens to my own race, whether I win or lose or whatever the margin is, I think I just want this race to go to show that anyone can get involved no matter your age, your background, your walks of life,” he said.
Couzens said he has just one final plea for the BC community as November rounds the corner.
“For everyone that reads this, make sure you all request your ballots!” Couzens said.
