SANFORD — When Draven Bishop’s mother died of emphysema when he was 12 years old, it was a pretty darn rough time —  especially for a young fellow who had already had more than his share of rough times.

Bishop, now 18, will graduate from Sanford High School on Wednesday, and wasn’t always the focused guy he is today. As a young boy, he was, he’d tell you, “all over the place.”

“I couldn’t express my emotions, I’d throw things, not listen,” he said in a recent interview. Diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome, his mother saw to it that he was treated. Between therapy and medication, things began to even out pretty well, Bishop said. Then, his mother died.

“We had such a strong bond and I had a low ability to cope,” said Bishop. “I was devastated.”

Draven was born when his mother was 40. He has a sister 20 years his senior and a brother 14 years older. He said his father left the family when he was 3. 

 So when his mother died, his sister, Cassandra Rabideau, became his guardian.

“She took me in and has raised me since,” he said, “She’s the best thing in my life.”

These days, Bishop is very focused. He has a 3.7 grade point average, works 20 hours a week at Wendy’s during the school year, and plans to work there full time this summer. He’ll study biology at the University of New Hampshire in the fall, with a view to either pursuing veterinary medicine or becoming a physician’s assistant. 

He’s volunteered at various food pantries and a local veterinary practice  — in all logging more than 500 hours of community service. 

Bishop was a member of the high school’s Environmental’s Club and, he said “briefly” of the math club.

The rough times are behind him, but they’ll always be part of him.

“These moments and struggles define who I am,” he said.

Despite the adversity — and in some respects,  he said, because of how he’s handled the difficulties in his life —  he has earned a number of scholarships, including a $10,000 Horatio Alger Scholarship and another  $48,000 scholarship award.

For those facing adversity, he recommends talking it out.

“Talk to someone about your feelings — never hold them in, it makes your problems so much worse,” he said. “No one needs that when its so easy to talk to someone and solve the issues.”

— Senior Staff Writer Tammy Wells can be contacted at 324-4444 (local call in Sanford) or 282-1535, ext. 327 or [email protected].