(CNN) -- Jesse Ray Beard said he was constantly in trouble, even when he behaved. It took being accused of the racially charged attempted murder of a white classmate in the Deep South to turn his life around.



Living with attorney Alan Howard, right, has afforded Jesse Ray Beard a bevy of new experiences.



Beard, 18, now interns at a New York law firm as he prepares for his senior year next month at Canterbury School, a Connecticut prep academy where Beard is highly regarded among peers and teachers.



"I didn't change the way I act. I didn't do nothing different. It was just that I was at Canterbury instead of Jena," he said. "It was like Jena was out to get me -- and not just me, but other people, too."



If not for the controversy surrounding the Jena Six and the palpable racial tension in the Louisiana town, Beard never would have met the attorney who changed the course of Beard's life by removing him from everything he knew.  Watch Beard describe his reaction »



Alan Howard met Beard, the youngest of the African-American teens who made up the Jena Six, in January 2008 when he began representing him in a lawsuit filed by beating victim Justin Barker.



The fight followed months of disquiet among Jena High School students, including off-campus skirmishes, a school arson and nooses hung from a campus tree.



In September 2007, thousands of protesters, alleging the teens were treated harshly because they were black, converged on middle Louisiana.



Protesters were particularly angered at the jailing of Mychal Bell, one of the six, who was charged as an adult. Later in September, he was reclassified as a juvenile and released.



The Jena Six were lionized and vilified; donations for their defense poured in, as did threats on their lives.



Howard said his first impression of Beard -- that he had "tremendous character, tremendous resilience and tremendous potential" -- was so strong he invited the teen to live with his family in New England.



It's been a tidal shift, Beard said, moving from a Louisiana town of 3,000 to Bedford, New York, a well-to-do city of 18,000 situated an hour north of the Big Apple.



The biggest shock? "Where I'm from in Jena, I think the only time it snowed is when I was 6, and it was like 1 inch."



Another difference, he said, is not living in a town where everyone associates him with one of the most controversial events in contemporary race relations.  See history of Jena Six »



The Howards say Beard meshes seamlessly. Though he struggled with the curriculum at Canterbury -- a Catholic school in New Milford boasting a six-to-one student-teacher ratio -- he is seeing tutors and showing improvements.



He spent the summer helping attorneys at Howard's firm prepare for court cases and looks forward to his senior year as a three-sport athlete.



Head football coach Ken Parson said he "can't wait to unleash" the 5-foot-11, 215-pound Beard.



Beard is a candidate for team captain, Parson said, and the coach hopes Beard's leadership and "quiet confidence" will draw recruiters from Division I schools. Division II schools are already snooping around, he said.



"When he gets going, he's like a freight train. He's also got the softest pair of hands you could ever imagine on a high school football player and can make moves in the field like Barry Sanders," Parson said, invoking the Detroit Lions' legendary running back.



Though football, baseball and basketball are his preferred sports, Beard has picked up lacrosse from playing with Howard's sons -- Nick, 14, and Tommy, 11 -- and tennis from playing with Howard's daughter, Jessie, 17. She said his tennis skills are "ridiculous."



Other fresh experiences include snowboarding in Utah, surfing in Long Island, visiting the Hamptons and attending baseball games at Fenway Park and Yankee Stadium.



Around the house, he's a
What was he accused of Who did Jesse Ray Beard live with? Where did Jesse Ray Beard live in 2008? Jesse Ray Beard went to live with his attorney's family in which city? What is the name of attorney Alan Howard's daughter? What position does he play
the racially charged attempted murder of a white classmate Alan Howard, Jena Bedford, New York, Jesse running back.
question: What was he accused of, answer: the racially charged attempted murder of a white classmate | question: Who did Jesse Ray Beard live with?, answer: Alan Howard, | question: Where did Jesse Ray Beard live in 2008?, answer: Jena | question: Jesse Ray Beard went to live with his attorney's family in which city?, answer: Bedford, New York, | question: What is the name of attorney Alan Howard's daughter?, answer: Jesse | question: What position does he play, answer: running back.