SPRINGFIELD - West Springfield Police Capt. Ronald Campurciani told the 34 graduates of the Western Massachusetts Police Academy yesterday they face a new set of challenges in today's world.

The terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and their aftermath mean police officers today are part of the nation's protective shield against potential future acts of terrorism, Campurciani, an instructor at the academy, told the new officers and a packed house at Scibelli Hall at Springfield Technical Community College.

"At a time when most people would walk out, they are squaring their shoulders and walking in," he said of the graduates.

Referring to the stage full of law enforcement officials and the 30 new "brothers" and four new "sisters" about to join them on various police departments, Campurciani said, "Something symbolic has happened today, the merging of the old and the new."

"Wherever they go, they will not be alone, because they are police officers," he said of the new officers. "We are part of the biggest family on the planet."

Yesterday's 43rd Metropolitan Police Officer Class included new officers for 25 municipal police departments and the campus police department at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.

Forty-two officer candidates began the rigorous 21-week training program Dec. 3, but eight dropped by the wayside for various reasons, academy director John M. Claffey said.

"This has been quite an eventful class," Claffey said, noting that the start of classes at 7 a.m. on Dec. 3 was accompanied by a snowstorm.

The training, he said, "really covers the whole spectrum of policing."

Included is classroom work in constitutional law, criminal law, domestic violence issues and crime scene investigation.

Field work includes physical training, the handling of firearms, community policing, and training in how to handle vehicles in emergency situations.

"Not everyone who stood beside you December 3rd is here today," said Southampton Police Chief David G. Silvernail, president of the Western Massachusetts Chiefs of Police Association.

"What you have learned here at the academy is the foundation of your career," Silvernail said. "You're entering a noble profession. Set your standards high."

Class President Justin W. Green of the UMass Amherst Police Department said Dec. 3 marked the start of "the biggest challenge of our lives," a training regimen with "a degree of intensity that most of us had never endured in our lives."

Green attributed much of the success his class had experienced to the dedicated work of the academy instructors and to the support and encouragement of each officer candidate's family.

Ralph Gould, director of public safety at Holyoke Community College, presented awards to 10 members of the class.

Green was recognized with the leadership award, while Matthew R. Frydryk of the Monson Police Department won the academic award.

The physical training award went to Hunter J. Guiles of the Amherst Police Department, and Patrick T. Leahy of the Holyoke department took the firearms training award.

Juanita Mejias of the Westfield Police Department received the staff award, in recognition of her contributions to the class's cohesiveness, and five new officers - Michael T. Smith, Brad P. Lepicier, Nicole E. Morris, Eric R. Munson III and Adam J. Carlotto - were recognized for their training in community policing.