Agawam’s 2025 colleen, Julia Nicosia (second from right), is flanked by members of her court, Teagan Fullam (far left), Samantha Machos (second from left) and Abigail Drumm.
Reminder Publishing photos by Mike Lydick
AGAWAM — When Julia Nicosia realized she had been selected as Agawam’s 2025 colleen, she broke into a huge smile. It was a dream come true.
“I don’t think this smile is going away anytime soon. I’ve wanted to be the colleen ever since I was a little girl. I have a picture of me and other Girl Scouts sitting on the Agawam float when it was stored at Six Flags New England. I was about 7 or 8 years old and we were waving to people,” she said.
Nicosia was crowned colleen at a gala celebration Feb. 8. The Agawam St. Patrick’s Committee kicked off the Irish season with its 23rd coronation at St. Anne’s Country Club in Feeding Hills. The 22-year-old said she was shocked when she learned she was the new colleen.
“My jaw dropped and my eyes widened when they called the last name. It wasn’t me who was being called to step forward for the court. That’s when I realized I was the colleen,” said Nicosia.
The three runners-up — there were only four contestants for 2025 — selected for Nicosia’s’ court are three Agawam High School seniors, Abigail Drumm, Teagan Fullam and Samantha Machos.
Nicosia attends Holyoke Community College where she is majoring in child and family studies with the goal of becoming a developmental specialist working with special needs children. She said it means a lot to her to represent Agawam at the Holyoke parade on March 23 as well as at other events and activities during the next year.
“It makes me very, very happy. I love being doing something with my community, and getting to represent not just Agawam but also my Irish heritage. It’s so exciting for me,” she said.
Nicosia said ever since she sat on the float, her “little self” thought about getting to do the princess wave while riding on a float in the St. Patrick’s parade. “I feel I can be a role model for other little Irish girls who are watching the parade. As a little girl, I remember looking up to the colleen as she went by and waved at me.”
Becoming colleen, she added, shows that “no matter your age, you shouldn’t be afraid to do something. Even if you think that you’re a little too old for it, you should always just try and see. You never know. You might be surprised by the end results, like I was tonight.”
The oldest of the four colleen contenders, Nicosia said this was her “last chance” to become colleen because of her age.
“At 22, I’m the oldest you can be to be a colleen. So, I had one shot — and I guess I did a good job,” she said.
But Nicosia said she didn’t think she had a good chance of becoming colleen since she was competing against three younger contenders.
“I’m three, four years, out of high school at this point. The other girls had community service that I haven’t had in years, because I already have a full-time job at this point. I was nervous that the judges would see me differently than the younger girls,” she said.
A panel of three out-of-town judges — Sue Feyer, Elizabeth Gourde and Brianna Viens — made the difficult decision to select Nicosia and her court.
Judges based their decision on contestants’ biographies, interviews and essays they wrote. They were asked about their academics, athletics, extra-curriculars/volunteer activities as well as interest in their Irish heritage.
Drumm won the William Pfau Cultural Award for her essay about a person of Irish descent — living or deceased — who made a significant difference in her life. All contestants were required to write a 200- to 300-word essay on this topic.
Her essay described how her mother’s favorite Irish band, Celtic Thunder, and singer Damian McGinty influenced her life.
“Watching him and the other members of the band blend their voices on stage introduced me to rich harmony and tone, but even more. Watching him with my family strengthened our bonds beyond what I could have ever hoped them to be. I watched him transition from music to TV, where he was on The Glee Project, and suddenly my interests transitioned as well. It is because of him that I have my two greatest joys: music and theater,” wrote Drumm.
Karen Pfau Turmel, the daughter of William Pfau, a founding member of Agawam’s St. Patrick’s committee, presented the award on behalf of her family. She said her dad was the “epitome of a true Irishman” — and not just on St. Patrick’s Day, but every day of the year.
“It was my dad’s vision to spread his love of and his knowledge of his Irish heritage to members of the Agawam community, especially the younger generation. When he sadly passed away in 2005 after a valiant fight with esophageal cancer and a stroke, this wonderful committee established an award in his memory. In his honor. I cannot be more thankful to them for helping us to keep his legacy and his memory alive,” said Turmel.
At the coronation event, the committee also presented awards to three individuals — all Agawam residents — who will lead the Agawam contingency on parade day.
Todd Arslainian was named parade marshal for his contributions to the float building committee as well as serving as a member of the committee’s board of directors.
The Anne Sullivan Award, presented to a female committee member who epitomizes the values represented by Anne Sullivan, a Feeding Hills native, went to Judy Christian for exceptional volunteerism in the community.
Dawn DeMatteo received the Vera Conway Citizenship award for her dedication to youth sports activities in Agawam.
