By Samantha Swindler / Managing Editor

When America last saw Shawn Grim, he was digging coal illegally from the side of the road after dropping out of Pikeville College — but the next time he appears on national television, he might be back in school.

The former Johnson Central High School football standout, who was one of several children and teens featured in last week’s 20/20 special “Children of the Mountains,” visited Union College Thursday as a prospective student.

ABC News followed Grim when he visited Union to complete enrollment paperwork and take a second tour of the campus. Grim said he hasn’t committed to UC yet, but he’s staying with Kevin Buchanan, youth services center director for Knox Central High School, and getting to know Barbourville better.

“I’m going to be here for the next few days,” Grim said Thursday. “I’m going to be looking at things that probably most people don’t look at. I’m going to see how everybody reacts to me being here, I’m going to look at the teachers, how I like the feel of the campus. I like the fact that it’s out in the country a little bit because I’m a country boy myself. And I’m going to, you know, just get to know everybody and go from there.”

The Barbourville community has rallied around the young man. Mayor David Thompson is working to find him a summer job. Union College is allowing him to stay on campus until he gets comfortable. David and Helen McKenzie — whose nephew Dr. Edwin Smith and his Kids First Dental Care was also profiled in the 20/20 piece — have offered a place for Grim to visit on weekends and holidays where he can get a home-cooked meal or just some needed time away from campus.

“Our house that we’re going to move into is next door to Dr. Smith, so in a way it’s a family compound,” David said. “He (Dr. Smith) felt like since we’re retired and have plenty of time, we might be able to be a little more effective since Dr. Smith has a large family of his own. It would be a case where on holidays, and long weekends and other things that we could provide a place away from the campus.”

The McKenzies also own a business in Louisa, near Grim’s hometown, so David said they’d be willing to drive him back home to visit family.

Helen said Grim hasn’t yet expressed such an interest.

In the 20/20 piece, Grim is shown sleeping in his car or crashing at friends’ homes in an effort to avoid the fighting, drinking and other problems at home. He was a 5-foot-7-inch tall football star in high school, known as the “Grim Reaper” to his opponents. He talked to several colleges last year and ultimately accepted a football scholarship to Pikeville College.

“I want to go out here and I want to make everybody proud of me,” Grim told camera crews last year, “and I want to make everybody happy that I’m actually trying and doing something with my life, and I don’t want to mess up.”

After becoming the first in his family to graduate high school, Grim spent just eight weeks at Pikeville College before dropping out and returning home.

“I found out I couldn’t pay for the college, I had to come back home,” he had said. “No one’s perfect.”

But since “Children of the Mountains” aired last Friday, Grim said, “I have had a thousand calls, a million e-mails probably, and it’s been really hectic for me right now.”

Scholarship offers have poured in, he said, from schools like University of Kentucky, University of Louisville, University of the Cumberlands and Union. Even Pikeville College invited him back.

“But I ruled out all the big schools,” Grim said. “I honestly don’t think I want to attend any big schools, I’d rather have a small classroom to where I can actually keep up... I want to be in a classroom to where if I do have a problem, I can ask the teacher and they’re going to know my name.”

Grim met with Union College President Ed de Rossett briefly Thursday, where he expressed an interest in studying criminal justice. He also toured the school weight rooms and talked to football coaches. Grim has been offered the chance to start school immediately, although due to university regulations he’ll have to wait until next school year to join the UC Bulldogs football team.

“So far, I like the campus,” Grim said. “It’s not too big, it’s not too small. A lot of people up here are friendly and I just want to get to, you know, see it. I’d rather know where everything is instead of having to go in there blind like I did last time.”

Union has offered to cover Grim’s tuition and board. He’ll have to supply money for books, food and other essentials, but a trust fund set up in his name since the 20/20 piece aired will hopefully fund the balance.

Grim’s been invited to join Union immediately and start with independent studies until a new semester begins. Having just a few classes will let him “get his feet wet,” said Brenna Wallhausser, director of communications for UC.

If he attends, Grim will have access to an academic mentor once a week, and he’ll be able to work out and practice with the football team. Counselors and other resources are also available.

Wallhausser said Grim’s experience is not necessarily unique among Union students. She said 98 percent of students receive some form of financial aid, and more than two-thirds of them come from Kentucky’s 5th Congressional District. Last year, the college contributed $4 million to tuition for students.

“His story is similar to a number of students’ stories here and all of them get that level of support,” Wallhausser said. “We have funds ourselves that we use to help people like Shawn... Because we’re accustomed to working with students like Shawn, we have really solid support services that are in place.”