News 12 First at 5

MARTINEZ, GA -- When you go on a reality show, you promise you won't talk about what happens. If you do, you could face a hefty lawsuit.

That's why when we first found out Hunter Jeffers from Martinez was one of the kids on the CBS reality show "Kid Nation," we couldn't ask him what we really wanted.

Now that the show's over and he's $20,000 richer, he is free to tell all. So, we asked.

The day we sat down with Hunter at his home, his gold star had just arrived in the mail. That gold star is worth $20,000. As he shows it to us, the memories come racing back.

"The gold star night was incredible," he says with a huge smile. "I was just so excited, so overwhelmed when the council gave me the gold star."

"Kid Nation" was filled with emotional moments like Hunter's star, but it was also filled with it's share of controversy. Some even accused the network of violating child labor laws, forcing these kids to work. We wanted to know Hunter's response.

"I don't believe that they made us work at all. In my case, I chose to work as hard as I did, and I really feel CBS had no say in anything I did."

Hunter is proud of the way he got to see himself on the show, so life after "Kid Nation" has been fun.

"Oh, it's been great. I've been getting a lot of attention at school, but I try not to get a big head about it."

Meeting Hunter, you know he never could get a big head about anything. He is still humble, even though this experience has changed him.

"I think I definitely walked away with more self confidence. I feel like I'm a lot more confident in myself."

Even his mother Dawn notices a difference.

She believes "he really gets it. That this was a God thing. That this had nothing to do with us, and God was able to put him out there for all these experiences. He got to read the Bible on television. How cool is that?"

Hunter and his family think it's very cool, maybe even cooler than Hunter winning the $20,000 gold star.

Since the show, Hunter is also using his celebrity--even though he says he doesn't feel like a celebrity--to give back to the community.

He held a viewing party the night he won the gold star, complete with a canned food drive. He also auctioned off some of his things from the show to raise money for the Make-a-Wish Foundation.