Cadet Jeremy Ceasar

The day Jeremy Ceasar turned 13, he said, he felt like he became a careless teenager.

"And when I turned 14 is the day I became a delinquent."

Growing up in Irvine, California, Ceasar said he would get into fights, smoke marijuana, ditch class and tune out his family.

"I got into seven fights my freshman year, three fights my sophomore year, and I was on the thin line of getting arrested and expelled at the same time," Ceasar said.

Now, 17-year-old Ceasar is a cadet at Sunburst Youth Academy. CBS News has been following Ceasar and other cadets throughout their time in the program.

"Sometimes, I daydream about what I did in the past and catch myself smiling," he said. "That is not who I am anymore. I'm here."