- If a poet is only as good as his poems ...
- I'm going to read some poetry,
but I'm also going to tell you a little bit about my life.
- ... Oscar Mireles could be considered writing royalty.
Today he's sharing his story with 4th graders
at Nuestro Mundo Elementary in the city of Monona.
- Which one do you think I am in this picture?
- Raised in Racine, Oscar's first love was wrestling.
- In 8th grade, I was 4 feet 10 and I weighed 85 pounds.
So I was probably shorter
than the shortest person in this room.
- Eventually he began wrestling with the written word.
- Because I was so little, that probably made me a poet
because I had to listen.
Because when you're little
sometimes people don't listen to you.
- The long-awaited growth spurt
eventually materialized and Oscar moved to Madison.
Poetry remained his passion.
He'd continue to put his most personal thoughts to paper.
No rhyme, just reason.
- "Why did you name me Javier, Dad?"
My son Javier asked me this question.
I have poems that talk about identity.
Talk about me trying to, you know, as a father, as a male,
as a Latino, trying to find my place in the world.
I think that I write poems about that.
- He published some of his best work
in an aptly titled anthology.
- As I was traveling in California, someone asked me,
"I didn't know there were Latinos in Wisconsin."
- The book highlighted
more than 40 Hispanic writers throughout the state.
Oscar believes storytelling can be a powerful tool.
- If you can think with your heart,
then you really have an opportunity to move people
and get them to look at things just in a little different way.
- That's why he's here at Nuestro Mundo.
It's his first chance to bring his message to these students.
- I want to encourage all of you
to be the best "you" you can be.
- He'll also be there if they ever need a second chance.
- So when someone says the word "drawback,"
what it means is what's a negative.
- This is Oscar's day job.
Since 1994, he's been the Director of Omega School,
an alternative school in Madison
that helps people obtain their GED or high school equivalency.
- When you're a high school dropout,
there's not a lot of options.
There's not a lot of hope.
And what we do is provide an opportunity for them
to kind of move on to the next part of their life.
We have individual rooms.
It helps the students
kind of concentrate and focus on their studies.
We shut the doors.
It's a pretty quiet place to focus and start to learn
and build your skills and confidence.
It did just that for Louis Bentley.
He attended Omega School in 1996.
- Well, at that time I was very rebellious as a teenager
and not too many people could reach me.
I think what he did was he took that aggression and molded it
and showed me how I could use it
to create a positive impact in my life
instead of ending up in jail.
- Louis earned his high school equivalency
and success soon followed.
Today he has a family, a home and a full time job.
He's a branch manager at an insurance agency.
- I couldn't ask for anything better.
I love my life right now.
[music]
- These are the stories that move Oscar.
Scan the walls of Omega School and you'll see dozens of them.
Oscar estimates that he and his colleagues have helped
more than 3,000 people earn their high school degree.
- You see how proud they are.
You see how proud their families are.
You see how proud their children are.
I'm proud to be a part of that,
but I'm more proud of their success.
I think some people are drawn to the work of helping people.
I think I'm drawn to the work of helping people help themselves.
My challenge to you is to find what works for you.
- In 2015, Oscar was named Poet Laureate,
the official poet of the city of Madison.
It's one of the most distinguished honors
a writer can receive.
It's given Oscar more visibility to share his story.
- As I walked away, I knew what they were thinking.
Who is this guy?
How can he not speak his mother's tongue?
- It's also allowed people to learn more about
a man who's spent decades making a difference in his community.
- Plants need carbon dioxide and water
to carry out photosynthesis.
Every person I helped, I feel that I'm blessed.
That I had the opportunity to help them.
- Ask Louis and he'll say that
Oscar Mireles isn't as good as his poems.
- Oscar is the reason why I graduated.
You're the reason why I graduated high school.
- He's even better.
- He should be very proud of,
of the impact that he made in his community.