[Alumnus Gerardo “Tony” Mena](https://www.themaneater.com/special-sections/mizzou-veterans/former-marine-finds-peace-in-music-poetry/) pulled up to the drive-thru of a local Starbucks to grab two caramel lattes for himself and his wife on a Saturday in June.

A sandy-blonde barista handed him his beverages through the window and noticed his hat read “Operation Iraqi Freedom Veteran.” She thanked Mena for his service and turned down his credit card, giving him his drinks on the house. Mena said he was left feeling stunned as he sat in his 2011 Hyundai Sonata.

It was this incident that inspired Mena to write [“A Much-Needed Treat, and a Welcome Surprise,”](http://atwar.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/08/21/a-much-needed-caramel-latte/) an essay which was published under the At War blog in The New York Times on Aug. 21.

“It doesn’t happen very often,” Mena said. “I don’t go around advertising that I’m ex-military. I just happened to be wearing the hat, and she saw that hat and the story happened.”

Mena, an English teacher at Moberly High School, said he felt more grateful the more he thought about the experience.

“It’s one of those things that when it happens maybe it’s not that big of a deal,” Mena said. “But later, you go home, put your feet up, think about your day, and you think, ‘Wow, that was actually really cool.’ That doesn’t always happen in Columbia.”

Mena has been publishing his war poetry since November 2010 and now works on both nonfiction and fiction stories. After four rejections, “A Much-Needed Treat, and a Welcome Surprise,” is Mena’s first story to be published by The New York Times.

Mena said he remembers the special feeling he got when received the call.

“It was the greatest day of my life,” Mena said. “Almost crying in the middle of the library, jumping up and down on the second floor. (I was) like, ‘Yes!’ And this old lady was looking at me really oddly, and then I went home, and I had to go run like a mile and a half because I was so jittery. Then I felt better.”

Mena spent six years in the Marines Special Operations as a Special Amphibious Reconnaissance Corpsman. He said he joined the military at a young age.

“After high school, I didn’t know what I wanted to do,” Mena said. “I just knew I was patriotic and I wanted to serve some time in the military, so that’s what I did. I joined up.”

After spending time in Iraq, Japan, Mongolia and the Philippines, Mena said he left the military in November 2007. After what Mena described as “an awkward two months” of living back home with his parents, he started classes at MU in January 2008.

Mena said it was at MU where he discovered his love for writing.

“When I got out of the military, I took this poetry class just for fun,” Mena said. “And the professor was so amazing and encouraging and showed me how to do it and took the time out of class to meet up with me and show me how to submit my work. I’ve never felt so inspired and encouraged by anybody, and that’s what made me fall in love with it.”

Former MU instructor John Nieves taught Mena’s Intro to Poetry class. It was Nieves who encouraged Mena to enter his first poetry contest in November 2010. He won first place and $2,000.

“Tony came into my Intro to Poetry class with real passion,” Nieves said. “He had much he wanted to say and just needed to focus his words. This focusing, this long revision, is hard work. New invention and change take dedication.”

Nieves said Mena was always up for any task.

“He put in as much extra time as necessary and worked hard to inspire the same dedication in those around him,” Nieves said. “His devotion to his craft and deep faith in personal expression set him apart from many others.”

The two are still in touch, and they have work published in some of the same journals.

Mena has since written everything from poetry to nonfiction, as well as music. He said he has recently enjoyed writing fiction.

“I have a short attention span; I get bored,” Mena said. “I started writing poetry, and I wrote that for a while, and so I’m kind of like bored of it. I like hard things, so I’m always trying to find a new challenge. I’ll return to poetry someday. I’m just kind of wandering into the other genres.”

Mena said his writings generally focus on soldiers and war, but he addresses the serious issues with hints of lightness and a sense of humor.

It’s this motif that Mena said he tries to infuse into his poetry, fiction and even his piece for The New York Times.

“I feel like when I read something that’s all dark and dense the entire time, it’s like somebody hitting you in the head with a hammer over and over,” Mena said. “But if you weave in some kind of lightness at some point, it’s a little more digestible.”