The Glen Ellyn school district honored Declan and Tiernan Devlin, Tommy Nitti and Charlie Valerio.
The boys saved a man struggling to swim in a lake back in June.
On the day of the rescue, the close friends heard a man struggling in the water Lake Ellyn. They ran and got a kayak and life vests from a garage, paddled out to the man and pulled him back to shore.
Declan shared that he had recently gone white-water rafting, which is why he knew what to do.
Glen Ellyn Police Chief presented the boys with a certificate for their bravery and quick thinking.