Spending a hot July day out on the water is a common experience for many Minnesotans. That was how the day started for Matias Vega and Eoin Porrata. But it ended very differently.

The recent high school graduates were enjoying a camping trip on the Mississippi River with a friend’s family. The group was out on the family’s boat exploring a sandbar when an emergency struck—Luis, the father of their friend and driver of the boat, collapsed. Matias, who was trained in CPR while participating in the American Red Cross Lifeguarding Program, sprang into action. He had the group work to get Luis onto the floor of the boat and he began chest compressions. Eoin, who was trained alongside Matias in the program, joined him and took over mouth-to-mouth resuscitation while their friends contacted 911.

Unfortunately, Luis was the only person who knew how to drive the boat, so the group was temporarily stranded on the sandbar until they were able to flag down another boat for help. A man jumped on board while the boys were still performing CPR and drove the boat to his dock where his sister—a registered nurse—was waiting and took over performing CPR. Shortly after, Luis was airlifted to the hospital and has since made a full recovery, thanks to the quick thinking and action of Matias and Eoin.

On July 7, 2026, Matias and Eoin were honored with the Certificate of Merit, one of the highest awards given by the American Red Cross to an individual who saves a life by using skills and knowledge learned in a Red Cross Training Course. The young men’s instructor, Sam Sonnabend, was also honored with the American Red Cross Lifesaving Instructor Award for his role in preparing Eoin and Matias to save a life.