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Date: 3/30/2022
AGAWAM – Awards season for Agawam High School (AHS) seniors kicked off last week when 123 of them were honored at the School Committee meeting with a special award to recognize their academic achievements.
The award – known as the Academic A’s – is presented to seniors who have maintained at least a 3.0 (B) cumulative grade-point average (GPA) during their freshman, sophomore and junior years, as well as the first semester of their senior year.
Maxwell Florian, president of the class of 2022, said the award is a reflection of how hard he’s worked during the past four years.
“It’s good to have something tangible to show for my work,” he said.
Florian, who will major in the biomedical field at North Carolina State University, added that he was “pretty confident” he would get an Academic A, since he had consistently high GPAs: “I also see this as a reward for working hard and a way to kick off the end of my high school years.”
The award consists of a large white “A” similar to the sports letters that honor athletic achievements, trimmed in orange with a yellow lamp of knowledge in the center, as well as a certificate.
According to AHS Principal Jim Blain, about 57 percent of the 219 students in the class of 2022 met the academic requirement for the award.
Mia DiLullo, planning to attend Merrimack College as a psychology major, was thrilled to get the award: “I’m proud of myself – I worked really hard and got good grades. This is a symbol of my accomplishments. It shows how hard I’ve worked.”
According to School Superintendent Sheila Hoffman, this was the 21st year that Academic A’s have been presented to seniors. The presentation is usually made at a School Committee meeting. Last year, however, because of COVID-19, it was made at AHS during Senior Award Night.
The Academic A’s award was the idea of former School Committee member Susan Pettazzoni, who served on the committee from 1992 to 2006. She wanted to create an award to recognize academic accomplishments comparable to how students are recognized for sporting achievements.
Mayor and School Committee Chair William Sapelli said the presentation was an opportunity for the committee to recognize and celebrate the academic successes of seniors. He called it “one of the high points, if not the high point,” of the School Committee’s year.
Sapelli added that with all that’s happening around the world “and all the negativity and negative events, it’s nice to have something very positive to look forward to and to recognize somebody for doing something appropriate and something right, and working hard.”
Hoffman said the number of students receiving the award has grown over the years. She attributes the increase not only to the hard work of students, but also to teachers, administrators, and parents who stress the importance of academic excellence.
Blain said it’s only his first year as the high school’s principal, but the class of 2022 is “very special” to him: “I’m enjoying every single day I have with them – and those days are now numbered.”
Blain, along with Assistant Principal Susan Feyre, presented awards to students after their names were announced. Students unable to attend the awards ceremony also were recognized. Their names were announced during the ceremony just as they would have been if they had been present.
After receiving their certificates and letters, seniors went through a receiving line. As they passed through the line, they were congratulated by the mayor and School Committee members. Joining them were other dignitaries: Susan Pettazzoni, state Sen. John Velis, and city councilors George Bitzas, Cecilia Calabrese, Christopher Johnson, Dino Mercadante, Anthony Russo, Gerald Smith and Anthony Suffriti.