Maddie Balzano poses for a photo with parents Sherry and Joe Balzano and her brother Bill after receiving the Massachusetts Association of School Superintendents Certificate of Academic Excellence award.
Reminder Publishing photo by Mike Lydick
AGAWAM — Maddie Balzano is disciplined, organized, passionate, creative and loves history.
A natural leader who embodies excellence in both academics and community involvement, she’s the latest Agawam High School senior to be rewarded for pursuing academic excellence during their high school careers.
Balzano was presented with the Massachusetts Association of School Superintendents Certificate of Academic Excellence award at the Nov. 18 School Committee meeting. Each year, the school superintendent honors a senior with this award for academic excellence.
The award criteria includes a student’s three-year cumulative average of class ranking and overall school citizenship. Balzano ranks third in her class and has a 4.6 GPA.
“I’m grateful to be acknowledged for all the hard work I’ve done in high school as well as grateful that the staff, specifically Principal [Jim] Blain, thought so highly of me that they chose me out of a class of 243 students,” said Balzano.
Superintendent of Schools Sheila Martin, who presented Balzano with the award said Balzano is “a shining example” of academic excellence, leadership and service. “She has consistently earned honor roll recognition throughout all of her terms at Agawam High School and is a proud member of the National Honor Society, Spanish Honor Society and History Honor Society,” said Martin before presenting the award.
Balzano said she was “shocked and grateful” to receive the award. “I’ve worked with the superintendent’s association in the past through Project 351, so I know a lot about it. I’ve had some friends in other districts get this award, so I was just like, wow, they picked me,” said Balzano, the 2022 student ambassador to Project 351 community service program.
Martin said that throughout her time at AHS, Balzano has received numerous academic distinctions, including Excellence Book Awards in AP Language and Composition, AP U.S. Government, Pre-Calculus Honors and AP Environmental Science. She also has earned recognition from the College Board, qualifying for both the National Recognition School Program and the AP Scholar with Distinction honor.
“Maddie demonstrates an unwavering dedication to learning and a deep commitment to her studies, enrolling in as many honors and AP courses as possible,” said the superintendent.
During her junior year, Balzano successfully completed three AP classes. In her senior year, she continues challenging herself with two additional AP courses as well as dual-enrollment online classes in sociology and English at Holyoke Community College.
Balzano said her goal has always been to push herself to her furthest capabilities. “People always assumed that my parents were super strict because me and my brother did really well in school. That was never the expectation. It was the expectation to try your hardest. They’ve only been disappointed in us when they could tell that we didn’t try,” said the 17-year-old Agawam native.
For Balzano, that’s always meant spending hours at night on homework. “Even if that doesn’t mean I’m actually doing homework, I’m studying and I’m keeping myself fresh,” she said.
Despite her jam-packed academic schedule, Balzano still finds time for many other activities. She has been a dancer since the age of two and is an active member of the school’s Empowerment Club, Diversity Club, and Speech and Debate Club.
A Project 351 Ambassador when she was an eighth grader, Balzano has remained involved with the nonprofit organization that provides opportunities for students to lead service projects in their communities. She’s a member of its Alumni Leadership Council and a senior legacy fellow, helping run programming.
“I’m really excited about this because I get to work directly with mentors and ambassadors to make sure they feel confident in what they’re doing this year and that they’re equipped with the tools they need,” said Balzano.
In addition to her academic and extracurricular commitments, Balzano also works nine to 12 hours a week at the Westfield YMCA assisting with an after-school program for the city’s elementary schools.
Balzano said the key to juggling all her responsibilities is her approach to time management. “The first thing I do as soon as I get home every night is write down what I have to do. I make sure that I make a to do list of what needs to get done. And I always focus on that first, because it’s very easy for me to get distracted. Some nights it’s harder to keep myself focused than others, but I definitely make sure everything gets done.”
She added that her parents have always stressed to her that priorities are important — and school comes first. “It doesn’t matter if there’s a new show out on Netflix or if there’s a new TikTok live out, things are more important that will set me up for success in the future.”
Seniors receive the award early in the school year so they can include it on college applications. Balzano, whose career goal is to teach history in a public school, has already applied to several colleges and universities and hopes to add this award to her applications. She’s also hopeful the award will help her secure numerous scholarships.
“I’m applying for a lot of pretty high-achieving scholarships because my parents and I are going to work really hard to put me through college without going into debt. This award is another example of my work that I can add to my resume. I think this can make a difference when applying for scholarships.”
