Omega School Spring Graduation Ceremony
Keep on keeping on
Keep on keeping on
By Jonathan Gramling
For most of us, our education is a steady progression from elementary to
middle school to high school and beyond. But for others, life intervenes
whether it is the arrival of a child or the death of a parent or some other
circumstance that prevents us from completing our secondary education on
time. When he was young, Jason Brent lacked the support he needed to finish
his high school education. But all of that changed when he began to earnestly
attend Omega School.
Brent spoke to several dozen Omega School graduates and their friends
and family June 17 in the West High School auditorium at its annual GED/HSED
Graduation Ceremony. Brent moved to Madison from Chicago in 1999 looking
for a better life. He hadn’t gotten what he needed in Chicago to get ahead. “I
went to South Shore High School,” Brent said. “They gave up on me. I was a
For most of us, our education is a steady progression from elementary to
middle school to high school and beyond. But for others, life intervenes
whether it is the arrival of a child or the death of a parent or some other
circumstance that prevents us from completing our secondary education on
time. When he was young, Jason Brent lacked the support he needed to finish
his high school education. But all of that changed when he began to earnestly
attend Omega School.
Brent spoke to several dozen Omega School graduates and their friends
and family June 17 in the West High School auditorium at its annual GED/HSED
Graduation Ceremony. Brent moved to Madison from Chicago in 1999 looking
for a better life. He hadn’t gotten what he needed in Chicago to get ahead. “I
went to South Shore High School,” Brent said. “They gave up on me. I was a
troubled teen. They didn’t give a care about me. They didn’t want to see me graduate. They just gave up. At that point, throughout high school, I didn’t have
a lot of support. I didn’t have a father. My mom worked 2-3 jobs to try and support me, my brothers and my sisters. It was hard. You know, she didn’t have
a college education, so how could she explain that to me how important that was.”
Brent dropped out of high school in Madison to pursue his dream at the time, being a musician. He formed a musical group with some other guys from
Chicago and he thought he was going to be famous. But things didn’t work out and as he cast about for something else to do, he ran into Oscar Mireles,
Omega’s executive director. “Oscar is like a bounty hunter for GEDs,” Brent proclaimed. “For real! He will come and get you. I almost changed my
number. He must have known someone at AT&T. He always had my number. I’m glad he did. He started a basketball team because I was really into
basketball. He did everything he could to get me to come back and do my GED.”
But Brent still wasn’t ready to let go of his music dreams. He cast about for 5-6 more years and then came back to Omega. “Oscar opened his arms
up,” Brent said. “The staff did too. They were great. They believed in me. They would never let me miss a day. They called my phone. They make you come
in here. They make you take those tests. And I finished it right away.”
As he sat in the audience during his own Omega graduation ceremony, Brent pondered his own future. “When I graduated, there was someone who
was 89 years old and got their GED,” Brent recalled. “I’m sitting there like ‘Wow!’ I was 24-25 years old. I was feeling good because I didn’t give up. I
woke up that next morning and I decided to go to college. I didn’t have anyone tell me to go to college. I had no one point me in that direction. I decided to
go. When I went, I didn’t know anything about college. I had to go there and get the proper guidance. I asked Oscar to help me with the college application
and he helped me. A couple of other teachers helped me as well.”
While Brent has performed on the same billing as some world famous rappers, he told his audience that speaking to them that night was one of the
most important things in the world to him. “Just looking at your faces right now is really special because I was you before,” Brent emphasized. “I want to
thank Oscar because Oscar has definitely been an influence in this community in trying to get people to get their GEDs. The teachers are great. They give
their time. You have to remember that Oscar has his degree. He doesn’t have to worry about another day. He comes and he chases you guys because he
wants you to be special like he is. At the end of the day, I’m glad and proud of everyone here. I hope all of you have a bright, bright future.”
Brent’s bright future has included enrolling at and attending the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. Never give up!
a lot of support. I didn’t have a father. My mom worked 2-3 jobs to try and support me, my brothers and my sisters. It was hard. You know, she didn’t have
a college education, so how could she explain that to me how important that was.”
Brent dropped out of high school in Madison to pursue his dream at the time, being a musician. He formed a musical group with some other guys from
Chicago and he thought he was going to be famous. But things didn’t work out and as he cast about for something else to do, he ran into Oscar Mireles,
Omega’s executive director. “Oscar is like a bounty hunter for GEDs,” Brent proclaimed. “For real! He will come and get you. I almost changed my
number. He must have known someone at AT&T. He always had my number. I’m glad he did. He started a basketball team because I was really into
basketball. He did everything he could to get me to come back and do my GED.”
But Brent still wasn’t ready to let go of his music dreams. He cast about for 5-6 more years and then came back to Omega. “Oscar opened his arms
up,” Brent said. “The staff did too. They were great. They believed in me. They would never let me miss a day. They called my phone. They make you come
in here. They make you take those tests. And I finished it right away.”
As he sat in the audience during his own Omega graduation ceremony, Brent pondered his own future. “When I graduated, there was someone who
was 89 years old and got their GED,” Brent recalled. “I’m sitting there like ‘Wow!’ I was 24-25 years old. I was feeling good because I didn’t give up. I
woke up that next morning and I decided to go to college. I didn’t have anyone tell me to go to college. I had no one point me in that direction. I decided to
go. When I went, I didn’t know anything about college. I had to go there and get the proper guidance. I asked Oscar to help me with the college application
and he helped me. A couple of other teachers helped me as well.”
While Brent has performed on the same billing as some world famous rappers, he told his audience that speaking to them that night was one of the
most important things in the world to him. “Just looking at your faces right now is really special because I was you before,” Brent emphasized. “I want to
thank Oscar because Oscar has definitely been an influence in this community in trying to get people to get their GEDs. The teachers are great. They give
their time. You have to remember that Oscar has his degree. He doesn’t have to worry about another day. He comes and he chases you guys because he
wants you to be special like he is. At the end of the day, I’m glad and proud of everyone here. I hope all of you have a bright, bright future.”
Brent’s bright future has included enrolling at and attending the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. Never give up!