// BBC UK NEWS — CRONACA
From young offender to junior doctor: 'I wrote a plan and stuck to it'
Steven Beattie was a gang member and is soon to graduate as a doctor
Steven Beattie spent his teenage years in and out of Polmont young offenders' institution, once described by a former governor as "the most violent prison in Scotland", external.
He was sent there at 16 after drunkenly crashing a stolen car, and returned repeatedly over the next four years as his involvement with gangs and violence grew.
For Steven, the turning point came when he was punished for his part in a fight by being locked up for 23 hours a day and having his TV removed.
"I never really had time to sit down and think where my life was going," he told the BBC's Scotcast podcast.
"When they took my telly, I finally had that opportunity."
He asked himself - if he kept doing what he was doing, where would he be in five years' time?
"If I don't like that destination, I'll have to change it," he says.
Steven admits it wasn't easy for a young offender to start a new life but, after years of effort, he's about to graduate as a junior doctor.
Steven will graduate from University of Dundee Medical School in June