College students called #millennialheroes for saving a boy from drowning while on spring break

Three college students (from left to right — Jared Cox, Connor Churchill and Cole Firmature) are credited with saving the lives of two boys caught in the ocean. (Photo courtesy of Cole Firmature)
Three college students (from left to right — Jared Cox, Connor Churchill and Cole Firmature) are credited with saving the lives of two boys caught in the ocean. (Photo courtesy of Cole Firmature)

A group of students from the University of Kansas had a not-so-typical experience on their college spring break after they became literal life savers for pulling a young boy out of the ocean.

Cole Firmature, Connor Churchill and Jared Cox were enjoying their time on a beach in Destin, Fla., on Monday when they suddenly heard a mother frantically yelling for help. Their attention turned towards the water where they saw a young boy getting pulled away by the ocean’s current, and all three of the 20-year-olds sprung into action.

“We all kind of just reacted and all just went into action and started swimming out,” Firmature tells Yahoo Lifestyle of grabbing the nearly 10-year-old boy and making sure that he returned safely to shore.

Although the young men didn’t give their rescue mission a second thought, an onlooker is praising them for being so brave.

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“These young men were so humble,” a woman named Kaci Gilchrist tells Yahoo Lifestyle. “After it happened they just continued on with their day like it was no big deal that they had just saved a boy’s life. I thought that they deserved some recognition. That was a very brave thing they did.”

Gilchrist also posted to Facebook to share her admiration of the college students who so thoroughly impressed her.

“Today changed my mind about millennials,” Gilchrist wrote. “These guys deserve the upmost credit for putting their lives on the line to save those babies!”

Michelle Antrim Foley, Churchill’s aunt commented on Gilchrist’s post: “So grateful the young boys are okay and back in their moms arms! So proud to hear this about my nephew Connor Churchill and his KU buddies. Not surprised because they are awesome young men. <3 #millennialheroes”

According to Firmature, a number of other onlookers shared how grateful they were by circling around the three young men and giving them a round of applause, along with a few handshakes. The parents of the boy also thanked them.

“I’m sure if anyone else was in our shoes they would do the same we just happened to be the ones there,” Firmature says.

However, Gilchrist believes that the event has gotten so much recognition because not everybody would be so willing to help.

“We see so much anger, hate, and negative things happening in our world,” she says. “It’s great to see people helping each other.”

Read more from Yahoo Lifestyle:

? Family says son is a ‘hero’ after he digs them out of tornado debris
? Quick-thinking 7-year-old saves grandmother’s life after health scare
? Sandwich-shop employee chases down and captures man trying to rob a mom outside the store: ‘You’re a hero’

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