Seniors Noah Webber and Grace Emerson

Since their friendship began with light-hearted banter in first grade, seniors Noah Webber and Grace Emerson have been best friends. They find solace in each other through years of difficult classes.

According to Webber, he finds that Emerson has many traits that make her a great person; and they think very similarly. He also believes that Emerson is great at bringing him comfort.

“I’m friends with Grace because she is independent, intelligent and incredibly funny. We often can finish each other’s sentences,” Webber said. “She has always been someone I can talk to and she has been a great resource when I am going through any time of hurdle.”

Emerson appreciates Webber’s ability to connect with others through his sense of humor in addition to his lack of care for what others think about him.

“I admire his sense of humor. That might seem trivial, but I think sharing a sense of humor is a great way to connect with people,” Emerson said. “I also admire his ability to keep being himself despite what other people say. He’s still largely the same person I knew in elementary school.”

Academics offer the main foundation for Emerson and Webber’s friendship. Through sharing many classes together and finding interest in similar things, their friendship flourishes.

“Like most elementary school friendships, we were friends through first grade and then somewhat moved on since we didn’t have classes together past first grade until fifth grade,” Webber said. “We have had many of our classes through middle and high school together, so it has been easy to stay in touch, plus we have many similar interests.”

While Emerson agrees that they are very similar, she believes that their differences also contribute to their friendship. Webber’s carefree nature compliments her more intense personality.

“I’m friends with Noah because both of us complement each other yet we share similar interests,” Emerson said. “Sometimes I can be serious and get hyper focused on schoolwork, but Noah’s lightheartedness always reminds me to relax and try to enjoy myself during the school year.” 

Even though their friendship stemmed from their common trait of academic competitiveness, Webber believes they worked through any issues it brought up.

“We became friends because we were both pretty smart and therefore we were competitive,” Webber said. “I don’t think it ever hurt our friendship, but we just had to figure out how to avoid conflict because of our competitiveness.”

Emerson notes that their coed relationship sets them apart from others. Despite what many people around them think, Emerson and Webber have never dated and are simply very good friends.

“I think our friendship stands out because we’re probably one of the very few long-lasting boy/girl friendships. In middle and elementary school, it was always considered a little weird to be good friends with someone of the opposite gender as you,” Emerson said. “I was frequently asked if Noah and I were dating—we never did—and it used to bother me because I couldn’t grasp why people couldn’t understand that men and women can be friends without romantic intentions or feelings.”