The Southwestern Central School student has been chosen by the Future Caucus as its Gen Alpha correspondent to interview lawmakers and show politics does not always have to be polarized. Colburn was chosen for the Gen Alpha Correspondent role with Future Caucus in connection to America’s 250th birthday, spending time traveling to Washington, D.C., and interviewing some young lawmakers there about what they think the next 50 years in America will look like. The first video of interviews included Cecily speaking with Rep. Kayla Young, D-W.V., Rep. Steven Sainz, R-Ga., and Dr. Rep. Imani Barnes, D-Ga., and is available now to watch on Future Caucus’s YouTube channel.

Cecily’s mother, Rochelle Colburn, said this role came about because of her own work as COO for Future Caucus from 2022 to June 2026. With Colburn’s work, Cecily would go back and forth to visit Washington, D.C., and at one point shadowed her mother at the office, where the team then came up with the idea to have her be the one to interview young lawmakers about the next 50 years, rather than an adult doing the interviews. Mrs. Colburn said one reason to have youth do the interviews is because the younger generation will be in leadership positions 50 years from now, and Cecily was given the opportunity to ask whatever questions she wanted, speaking with both Democrats and Republicans about their hopes for the future without it being political.

“I think for her it gave her a better understanding of what her mom does,” Colburn said. “For me, it allowed someone in her generation to gain a better understanding of laws and law making, and to put the pieces together to start understanding some of these things that go into laws. It was interesting to see a child make those connections, while also connecting to my job.”

While America’s 250th birthday is over as July 4 has passed, Cecily’s work as the Gen Alpha Correspondent continues, as she and her mother are in Washington D.C. this week for Future Caucus’s annual conference. Colburn said this conference is the largest gathering of young state lawmakers in the country, and Cecily will get the chance to speak with more of them for another video, which will most likely be released in the fall. She added she did not know who all will be spoken with, as over 70 young lawmakers are in attendance.

Cecily Colburn interviews Rep. Kayla Young, D-W.V., for a video now available on Future Caucus’s YouTube channel. Submitted photo

Future Caucus’s mission is to help mitigate political polarization, Colburn added, and to do that they work with young lawmakers, many of whom find themselves in these kinds of positions for the first time, and work with them now to teach them the skills needed to know how to work with those across the aisle on issues.

“I realized Cecily’s generation is growing up in a time when they’ve only known a politically divided country,” Colburn said. “She was born in 2016 when we first began to feel a shift and like our democracy was under threat, and that has continued, so she has only known this political divide. Our hope is that her generation can change that, and have lawmakers willing to get along and reduce that polarization. There’s a big initiative underway and we are working hard to overcome that. Her generation will be the ones responsible for standing up and saying this is not acceptable.”

Despite what one can hear in the news and on social media, Colburn said there are a lot of both Republican and Democratic lawmakers who are committed to working together to find compromises and do what they can while also being friends behind the scenes. This is something Colburn said people do not get to see much, but especially at the state level there are many focused on working hard to do their jobs.

“I hope that both Cecily and people in general can walk away from this knowing it is not all doom and gloom,” Colburn said. “People can still have some trust. It is happening, we just don’t hear about it as much as we should.”

In the future, Colburn said she knows Cecily will grow up to do great things, especially growing up in Lakewood and Chautauqua County, where the family moved when she was four. Colburn said her husband grew up in the county, and Cecily is very involved with many different things.

Cecily Colburn interviews Dr. Rep. Imani Barnes, D-Ga. Submitted photo

“I hope she grows up and wants to stay in the community,” Colburn said. “She is a very worldly kid; I wouldn’t be surprised if she runs for office one day. There is no better place to raise or be a kid than Chautauqua County, and I hope she sees that as she grows up and chooses to stay in the area.”

Cecily and Rochelle Colburn in Washington D.C. Submitted photo

Cecily Colburn interviews Rep. Steven Sainz, R-Ga. Submitted photo

Cecily Colburn speaks with young lawmakers at a conference this week. Submitted photo

Cecily Colburn in front of a TV airing her interview with Rep. Steven Sainz, R-Ga. Submitted photo

Cecily Colburn and Rep. Steven Sainz, R-Ga, in Washington D.C. for an event this week. Submitted photo