AGAWAM — It was a proud moment on March 21 when 149 Agawam High School seniors were honored with a unique award that recognized their excellence in academics.

The award — known as the Academic A — kicked off award season for the Class of 2023. It’s given to seniors who have maintained at least a 3.0 (B) cumulative grade-point average during grades 9-11, as well as the first semester of grade 12.

Sophia Consolini said the award recognizes the effort she has put into her academic studies during the past four years.

“It makes me feel good about my grades and what I’ve accomplished during high school,” she said. “This award also shows how much I’ve improved during school with all my classes and grades.”

Consolini will attend Roger Williams College in Rhode Island, where she will major in marine biology. She’s looking forward to college, but has mixed feelings about her graduation in less than three months: “I’m excited about what will come after high school, but it definitely makes me sad that I’m likely not going to see most of my friends and classmates again.”

Students received a certificate and a large white “A” trimmed in orange with a yellow lamp of knowledge in the center. They are designed to look similar to varsity letters that athletes receive.

According to AHS Principal Jim Blain, about 61% of the 241 students in the Class of 2023 met the academic requirement for this major award.

Jazmin Dunbar, who was confident she would receive an Academic A since she had maintained a 3.0 GPA, said she’s proud about how far she’s come in the last four years.

“And I know I’ve made my family proud and my teachers, as well,” said Dunbar, who is headed Rutgers University in New Jersey this fall to major in physical therapy.

She explained that making her teachers proud is different than making her family proud: “My teachers get to see me evolve academically, whereas my parents see me evolve as a person outside of a classroom.”

Dunbar said it feels surreal to soon be leaving the company of classmates that she’s grown up with since she was 5 years old.

“To think that we’re all not going to be in like the same area after graduation is really crazy to me,” she said. “I feel like I’m still a freshman, because we really didn’t have a whole high school experience because of COVID.”

Carson Asselin said he became aware of the Academic A’s last year — and it has been in the back of his mind ever since.

“I’ve always tried pushing myself academically, so it wasn’t too big of a surprise,” said Carson. “It feels great. It’s extremely rewarding, and I’m thankful to receive it, as are my parents. It’s the same as sports — you should get recognized for the hard work you put in. This award is an important acknowledgement of the dedication of seniors who have strived to get good grades.”

Carson, who is planning a career in orthopedics and anesthesiology, will attend Elms College in Chicopee. While he’s known for more than a decade that he and his classmates would be splitting up and going in “different forks of the road” after graduation, it didn’t really hit him unit a few months ago.

“But moving on to a new chapter in life is so amazing. We’ll get to evolve into these new creations and it’s definitely very exciting,” he said.

According to School Superintendent Sheila Hoffman, this was the 22nd year Academic A’s have been presented to seniors. The Academic A’s were suggested by Susan Pettazzoni, who served on the School Committee from 1992 to 2006. Her idea was to create an award to recognize academic accomplishments in a way that is comparable to how students are recognized for sports achievements.

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 traditions are a huge part of any high school community.

“Agawam’s very special tradition of Academic A’s is the absolute best,” he said, adding that the award is not just a student award, but a family and a district award.

He said students in the Class of 2023 have been “fantastic” during his year and a half as the school’s principal. Blain said he was “just super-proud” to present their awards, especially since nine months of their high school career was cut short by the start of the pandemic.

“Their perseverance, their dignity, their excellence in the classroom and in the community is amazing. I call them warriors of our school,” he said. “They’re present in nearly every aspect of school life — leadership, athletics, the arts, music chorus, band, every club and activity. They are absolutely the best we have to offer.”

After receiving their award, seniors went through a receiving line to be congratulated by the mayor and School Ccommittee members. Joining them were other dignitaries, including Susan Pettazzoni and city councilors George Bitzas, Dino Mercadante and Anthony Russo.

This year’s Academic A awardees are  Connor Adamczyk, Vaneeza Ahmed, Muhamer Ahmeti, Jared Anziano, Carson Asselin, Cricket Baeder, Megan Ball, Jacob Barber, Mason Barcomb, Alexis Barna, Emilia Barron, Ailany Batista, Julianne Bazanchuk, Matthew Benard, Madison Bennett, Allison Boucher, Jacob Braska, Davis Bryant, Landen Cahill, Thomas Cascio, Ava Catelotti, Kylen Cavanaugh-O’Hanlon, Nolan Chamberland, Lauren Champigny, Genevieve Charette, Kylie Circosta, Rachel Cohen, Sean Colfer, Michael Colon, Owen Connery, Sophia Consolini, Ayala Cornejo, Taryn Crowley, Zahide Cure, Patrick Dahm, Joshua Diaz, Kendyl Donner, Dakota Drummond, Jazmin Dunbar, Jordan Edwards, Ahmed Elbakri, Anthony Elias, Murphy Estes, Dylan Fisk, Ryan Fitzgerald, Emily Fitzpatrick, Grace Frasier, Daniel Fronchkevich, Emily Gamelli, Bradi Gauthier, Bailey Gervais, Evan Gilbert, Devon Giorgini, Alyssa Gouvan, Kendra Grady, Christina Grasso, Kaden Grover, Amari Hatcher, Dimitri Heinze, Jacqueline Herrick, Julianna Hunt, Zachary Hurley, Melina Ichton, Caleb Igel-Lenza, Lynn Jang, Diana Javadian, Noah Jodoin, Mia Johnson, Colin Jorgensen, Jonathan Jung, Joshua Kennedy, Kevin Kiley, Colin La, Isabel Lalancette, Marisa LaRocque, Sarah Legros, Ava Levesque, Joseph Liquori, Heng Liu, Sophia Longo, Sydney Lubarsky, Kyler Ma, Christian Macadangdang, Erica Majka, Ryan Maloney, Cohen Manekas, Jackson McLaughlin, Sierra Moccio, Arnold Moore, Samuel Morse, Daniel Mudrenko, Isabella Nazarets, Hailey Newsome, Abigail Noftall, Aidan Noftall, William Noll, Niko Nuzzolilli, Arthur Oganyan, Morgan Oldenburg, Nathaniel Olmo, Kaylee Ottomaniello, Spencer Page, Madison Pajak, Mary Papova, William Parker, Pooja Patel, Amber Patrick, Anthony Pederzani, Guilia Perella, Megan Perrot, Abigail Perry, Stefanee Phillips, Kevin Pirogov, Antoine Poulin, Emily Quinones, Kenna Rainville, Jake Rising, Alejandro Robbins, Gino Robbins, Christopher Rondinelli, Gabrielle Rueli, Marissa Rufo, Leniah Ruiz, Julie Sanchez, Elizabeth Santore, Kayla Santucci, Huda Sarhan, Alexandra Seibert, Kyley Seldomridge, Emily Sexton, Gabriella Shayda, Kelvin Smith, Cole Stepanik, Reese Stevens, Matthew Stickles, Hadi Syed, Sarah Tower, Kylie Turgeon, Isabella Ugolini, Nicholas Uschmann, Kelcie Velozo, Kristen Vinciguerra, Anthony Virella, Dylan Walsh, McKenna Wheeler, Samantha Wheeler, Tyler Williams, Daniel Yovenko and Gabrielle Zollo.