From completing their Eagle Scout projects to graduating high school, five friends have done it all together.
Thomas Heinrich, Joshua Metts, Connor Nelson, Michael Nobili and Brady Novean from Scouts BSA Troop 2 in Santa Clarita have been friends for as long as they can remember.
Heinrich and Novean have known each other since they were 3 years old. Then Metts and Nelson came along, and the four boys were in a Cub Scout pack together. Nobili joined the group around sixth grade when they were in the same Boy Scouts troop.
Heinrich said being friends with Nelson, Nobili, Novean and Metts has been “a real blessing.”
“I was able to see young men go from rowdy young preteens to … stand-up young men. And seeing myself go from that as well,” Heinrich said. “But I can see how much I’ve picked up from them in my day-to-day life, like the manners that I’ve picked up from how they live. And just being around them so long, you just get to know them so well.”
He added that he has learned three things throughout the process of being friends with his fellow Eagle Scouts: keep your day-one friendships close, and display reverence and kindness.
Heinrich went to Trinity Classical Academy and plans to study environmental science at Northern Arizona University.
“I’ve always loved the outdoors. It’s always been my favorite part of scouting. I hated when they made us stay inside for stuff,” Heinrich said about why he chose environmental science.
Metts said throughout his friendship with everyone, he has learned how to have fun, to smile, be patient, and not take things too seriously all the time.
He added that it is wonderful to be able to reach a huge milestone with people he has known throughout his entire life.
“And to see each other grow at this side by side is really, it’s just really something special. I mean, not many friend groups have known each other their whole lives,” Metts said.
Metts went to Learning Post Academy and is going to College of the Canyons to study mechanical engineering because of a class he took in ninth grade that sparked his interest in the subject.
Nelson said it is important to have a close-knit friend group because it motivates people to want to do more.
“They would help me out and I would help them out. So, to have like people in your corner helping you and like you’re in their corner, we have each other’s back for everything,” Nelson said.
Nelson added that getting their Eagle Scout certification together was challenging at times, but worth it after everything.
“A lot of times were (hard), but I knew we’re all in this together, so I never backed down. Without them, I don’t know if I’d have to be able to do all this stuff (that) I was able to do,” Nelson said.
Nelson went to Golden Valley High School and is planning on becoming a firefighter, just like his father.
Nobili said the accomplishment of becoming Eagle Scouts with his friend group was cool because they supported each other throughout the whole process.
When asked what he learned from the experience, Nobili said it is great to have nice people to be around all the time. He added that he learned leadership skills from being in Scouts.
Nobili graduated from Castaic High School and is going to California State University, Northridge, to study kinesiology.
“I never knew I wanted to go into a medical field until my freshman year. One thing also that Scouts teaches you is to try new things,” Nobili said.
He added that a sports medicine club at school was what sparked his love.
“So, I mean I already had knowledge on first aid in a way, and emergency preparedness, which is another thing that we learned. And then, I right away knew that’s one thing I wanted to do, and I took the skills that I knew, applied new ones, and continued it,” Nobili said about why he chose to pursue kinesiology.
Novean said it felt good to be able to graduate alongside his lifelong friends, but it will be sad that he cannot drive 15 minutes to hang out with his friends once they all go to school.
Novean went to Golden Valley High with Nelson and is moving to Alabama to attend Auburn University to study electrical engineering. He said he decided to do it because his father is an aerospace engineer.
“Watching all of us grow up together and then crossing that like Eagle boundary and the high school finish line,” Novean said. “It’s, it’s really sort of like a surreal feeling to think like we all kind of stuck with it the whole time and we’re all kind of there for each other the whole time.”
