POCATELLO - "There's no hole so deep you can't dig yourself out," Kevin Peterson says.
A ticket for battery and dealing with diabetes put Peterson, 16, on a downward spiral, but the Intensive Supervision Program is helping him reverse the damage.
"I missed school a lot because of the diabetes, medication changes," Peterson said. "Those were probation violations; they wouldn't see it any other way."
Peterson said he believed his lifelong medical condition would be a legitimate excuse, but he said his probation officer thought otherwise.
Peterson attended Highland High School until the court placed him in ISP.
He's working on his GED and plans to complete his high school equivalency as well. He wants to go to college and study law enforcement, a long-term goal that keeps Peterson going.
"It's not a fun place (ISP); it's strict, but we're learning to keep ourselves under control; it straightens you out," Peterson says. "It's drastically changed my whole mood; it's given me responsibility. I work two jobs now at McDonald's in Chubbuck and Wal-Mart.
"ISP is a blessing in disguise. I'll graduate early and get a one-year head start to earn money for college."
Peterson, the child of a single mother, says he basically raised himself without a consistent father figure. He also says he's wrestled with an anger problem that netted him the ticket for battery.
"It's been a tough road," he says. "Everybody has sob stories; I don't like to go into that a whole lot."
"My mother was artificially inseminated. We found out my real father is a nuclear physicist," Peterson said. "Physics interests me. I have kind of a knack for it, and languages."
Peterson advises teens to stay in school, and it's not worth cutting school or dropping out. It's discouraging to get behind, and programs like ISP are not easy to endure.
"I thought I'd get away with it," he said. "My advice is to stick with school."
Kevin Peterson
- Age: 16
- Hometown: Born in Orange County, Calif., lived in Pocatello area for 9 years.
- Interests: Japanese-style swordfighting, nutrition (spurred by his diabetes), camping.