Eva Maris-Petrovskaya & Charlie Washburn

Grant High School juniors Charlie Washburn and Eva Maris-Petrovskaya have remained close for over 10 years, despite the differences in their personalities.

Washburn and Maris-Petrovskaya met in first grade, brought together by their younger sisters who were best friends. Although they haven’t had many classes together, they have consistently attended the same
school and maintained a stable friendship.

According to Maris-Petrovskaya, the fact that they met so early allowed their strong bond to form. “I think we were young enough that we just became close really quickly, and then we kind of just stayed close,” she says.

As they’ve grown older, Washburn and Maris-Petrovskaya’s friendship has persisted despite their differences. Maris-Petrovskaya describes herself as much more introverted than Washburn. “I think it helps that I need a lot of space just to be alone, and she likes to have other friends,” she says. “We’re able to

coexist easily.”

Their families have also become friends, which they say makes it easier to stay close. “We’re able to kind of see each other when our parents hang out or our little sisters hang out,” says Maris-Petrovskaya. “And even when we don’t see each other for a while … we’re able to hang out and get along.”

For both Washburn and Maris-Petrovskaya, the endurance of their friendship allows them to feel comfortable around each other. “I really love how our friendship is one that I feel like myself in,” says Maris-Petrovskaya.

Washburn also values the comfort that the many years of their friendship has brought her. “I like that we have that rhythm going where … we can go a little while without seeing each other, and then we can just come back and be immediately, back to how it was,” she says. “I love her unconditionally and couldn’t ask for a better person to be best friends with.”

Noah Brown & Nate Coury

From bonding in elementary school to commiserating over their college applications, Grant seniors Noah Brown and Nate Coury have truly grown up together. They first connected in third grade through a mutual friend. However, their friendship went on hold when Coury moved to Spain for a year in fifth grade. “That kind of diminished our friendship because he wasn’t in the nation,” says Brown.

Nevertheless, once Coury returned, they reconnected. As they grew older, their friendship became more based around their emotional connection. “I guess our friendship got less focused on more tangible mo- ments … and more focused on kind of just the idea of being friends,” Brown says.

As Brown and Coury have both become busier, it’s often difficult for them to see each other outside of school. In their freshman year, when they didn’t have any classes together, they made an effort to stay con-nected.

“To stay relevant in each other’s lives, to stay friends, we chose to do an elective together, that elective being mock trial,” says Brown. “We don’t get to see each other much outside of school, so mock trial is kind of a good place outside school where we can interact.”

The pair has had at least one class together since freshman year, making it easier for them to stay close.
In the spring of their junior year, the two went on a trip to Japan together, which they agree is their most prized memory from their friendship.

“We got to explore like, four different cities together and go out, get drinks from vending machines, go to a bunch of different restaurants, try different foods. We went skiing together for a couple days,” Coury says.

Brown recalls the extravagant dinner they had in Japan to celebrate Coury’s birthday. “It was like six courses, and on a 40-story skyscraper,” he says.

Coury shares the excitement. “And it was only, like, $300,” he says.

As they navigate the college application process, Coury and Brown have found allyship in each other. “We’re both relatively ambitious individuals when it comes to college and the college research process,” says Brown. “So as early as … late sophomore year, early junior year, we were actively doing research together for college.”

This mutual ambition has brought them even closer together. “I think your friends having a really similar understanding of what you’re pursuing academically is really helpful,” Coury says.