The JSerra Catholic High School Young Americans for Freedom chapter (JSerra YAF) has been named the November 2025 YAF Chapter of the Month.
After learning about YAF through the Michael Knowles Show, Lucas Ortiz started a YAF chapter at JSerra High School in San Juan Capistrano, California, to advocate for his conservative values at school. Near the end of JSerra YAF’s first year as a club, Lucas approached the school’s administrators and asked how the chapter could bring a YAF speaker to campus.
After receiving initial approval from the administrators to move forward, JSerra YAF spent months coordinating with the school and YAF staff to host Seamus Coughlin at an all-school assembly. The chapter chose to host Seamus because he was a young, energetic, Catholic speaker who JSerra YAF believed would connect with their peers.
At the assembly, Coughlin spoke to students about how they can use satire, humor, and joy to fight back against cultural confusion. School administration encouraged students to engage with the ideas, not just put up a wall and not listen to what people are saying.
Following the event, JSerra YAF Chairman Lucas Ortiz stated, “I am so grateful that YAF makes it possible for students to make an impact on their high school and college campuses. I never thought I would be bringing in a conservative speaker for 1,300 of my peers to hear speak.”
JSerra’s hard work in organizing this event shows that YAF campus lectures are not exclusive to the college campus. JSerra’s success proves that all high school YAF chapters can and should seek to host a speaker at their school.
The following members were instrumental in JSerra YAF’s success:
If you are interested in starting a YAF chapter, more information can be found here. And you can find YAF’s list of speakers that you can host at your school here.
