Estes Summer 2025 Weekly Journals

Monday                                                                                            March 24, 2025

Today was another productive day well spent in our PEP class. Every day that we are blessed to attend our class is greatly appreciated. We always welcome each other as we make our way to get our badges and find our assigned seats.

We started our day with a “back of the room” routine, where we get to dance our way to the front of the classroom. It helps to break any tension we might have and break us out of our character a little bit. Dancing is always greeted with laughter and smiles, and it is great to see everyone enjoying themselves as we dance away.

Afterwards, we took our seats and allowed one of our brothers to pray us in. We gave thanks to our Lord above for allowing us to be in good health and for taking care of our loved ones, peers and staff. Bruce T. blessed us with his presence today, educating us on the different types of life insurance policies and their functions. Once we finished today’s chapter in our Living in the Village workbook, we proceeded to take our chapter test based on last week’s reading.

After completing testing for the day, we wrapped up our day by praying out, hanging up our badges and exiting the room. We look forward to tomorrow, knowing that we are always blessed to learn something new that will assist us when we return to society. It’s always beneficial, and we look forward to every day in this program.

Javier C. (aka “Beverly Hills Chihuahua”)

Tuesday                                                                                            March 25, 2025

This day, like every day, was unique in its own style. We love coming to class first thing in the morning, with music coming from the loudspeakers, everybody mingling around greeting each other for the morning, talking about the day or night before and our current assignment(s). The vibe is one of strong positivity and camaraderie with our PEP brothers and volunteers.

After getting settled into our assigned seats, we prayed in, arms around our closest brothers, to begin the day with our best foot forward. As soon as we said “Amen,” the emcees got on the mic and announced who would go to go to the back of the room to dance down the middle of the aisle to whatever music they selected to play over the loudspeakers. It’s a way to get the blood pumping and our spirits even higher, as well as a way for us to get comfortable with each other and wash the penitentiary mindset and stigma off us. It is something we all need to bring us closer together. Today, our brother went off on the dance he did. We couldn’t contain our laughter as he provided us with the morning’s entertainment.

We then focused on presenting our elevator pitches in preparation for the executives who will be coming to Friday’s event. We all have been putting in the extensive work required, and man it shows! We are all excited for our first event; we’re also nervous, but with all we have done so far – with the help of our PEP brothers, the 10 Driving Values and PEP staff – it’s given us the confidence to overcome this and look forward to everything else.

 Jonathan C. (aka “Tookie from George of the Jungle”)

Wednesday                                                                                       March 26, 2025

Everyone got up early today to study for the Chapter 3 and 4 tests out of our Entrepreneurship textbook. We all waited anxiously in the dayroom, going over flashcards and study notes while waiting for Adam W. to come in and yell, “PEP current class!”

When we all got to the PEP classroom, all that we expected was a normal test day. All the tables were set up, each with three chairs. We all sat down and waited for the laptops. Once the laptops were passed out, everyone attempted to log in to the PEP test page, but one person after another began to have problems signing into the test page. Eventually, the Peer Educators and Facilitators realized that the problem was the internet connection. We were all instructed to sign out of the laptops and power them down. After that, we were all instructed to go to the back of the room so that all the Servant-Leaders could begin to arrange the room for paper testing. This worried the whole class because none of us knew what to expect as far as the layout or format of the test.

So, we all found our seats and our brother David F. prayed for us, but not before giving us words of advice and encouragement. He told us to keep up the good work and not give up. As soon as the timer started ticking, the PEP room went silent, and testing was in full effect. After the timer reached zero, all tests were picked up, and we were allowed to speak amongst ourselves. We were all asking each other how we felt we did. We were all confident we did well. Looks like all the studying and hard work paid off. 

 (Phillip C. aka “Paul Naw”)

Thursday                                                                                         March 27, 2025       

Today in PEP was another inspirational and insightful experience. After we prayed in, two of our PEP brothers, Javier C. and Jeremy W., gave us the Word of the Day: resilience. They gave us some great examples of how to be resilient when going through difficult situations. They also explained why it’s important to develop resilience to be able to bounce back from any obstacles that may present themselves.

After some more good examples and great feedback, another PEP brother shared some of his insights and knowledge on the foreign exchange market.

Afterwards, we welcomed our guest speaker, Cindy V., who gave a great lecture that hit all the key points on Chapter 5 of our Entrepreneurship textbook. After Cindy V. finished sharing her knowledge on Chapter 5 (“Business Mission Statement and Strategy”), we welcomed another executive, Jeff H. He came to speak about one of our 10 Driving Values: “Excellence.” He spoke on what it means to be excellent and how to achieve it for yourself.

Afterward, we broke for lunch and spent a little time back on our pods to reflect on everything from the first half of class. When we came back to class, we welcomed our third and final speaker for the day, Carl B. He gave a lecture on Chapter 11 from our Entrepreneurship book covering marketing, and he made a lot of great points on the subject. He also gave great examples of good and bad marketing; sales; and customer targeting.

After he finished his presentation, we prayed out and were done with another great day. We definitely left with more knowledge than we had before the day started!

 (Scott C. aka “Yank”)

Friday                                                                                                 March 28, 2025

On the Sanders Estes Unit, there is no other place like the PEP classroom. Today we held our Big Idea Pitch event with the executives in the gymnasium. As we arrived, the vibe in the classroom was already alive with smiles and handshakes coming from every direction. Everything we have all been practicing for comes down to this moment. So, you can imagine what was going through all of our minds when we walked in and noticed that there were a few faces we had never seen, and the room was set up a little differently.

Our day began with PEP participants going to the back of the room to dance to the music the DJ chose to play, but today the DJ was calling out pairs of guys to have a dance contest. We all paid close attention to the board, just hoping our name didn’t show up (at least for those of us that can’t dance or are too shy).

After that “intense but fun” dance contest to begin our day, we all bowed our heads as one of our participants volunteered to pray us in. Next, the facilitators explained to us what was expected, including that it would be fun. We then did a few test runs just to get a feel of what it would be like in the gym. After lunch, we all headed back to the classroom for count time. We knocked that out quickly and got started with the “real deal” event in the gym.

We were all excited and at the same time very nervous. As we walked into the gym, music was playing and there was a huge group of executives cheering and giving us high fives! They were all smiling, yelling and dancing. It was a time we will all remember for the rest of our lives. After the event, all the participants were talking about how much fun it actually was. It helped many of us come out of our shell and not to be so intimidated. It felt great! We are all eager to see each other graduate this class in the near future. Thank you PEP!

 (Perfecto C. aka “Sweet Pan Dulce”)

Expression

“My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect worback, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.”

– James 1:2-4

“Count it all joy”? That sounds like an impossible task when we look at our various trials in life. Yes, counting it “all joy” is a tough task. It is a call to understand suffering from the vantage point of confidence in God’s sovereignty.

Trials can be considered pure joy only when one realizes that they are designed by God for a purpose. They are tests of faith given in order to develop perseverance. In turn, perseverance produces a mature Christian character.

The early believers were persecuted for their faith. They knew what it was to suffer because they loved Jesus. But James clearly reminded them, and he reminds us, that God is very aware of those trials and is very present in them.

Of course, these growing pains hurt, yet God enables us to count these tough times “all joy.” I know he has revealed Himself to be faithful, wise and loving. Also, I know from his Word that He can and does redeem the most difficult of life’s experiences. He has lifted me up while going through my prison sentence and will continue to do so after I am released.

I also have the ultimate security: I will spend eternity with Him. Yes, the world brings loss, pain and sorrow, but the promise of eternal life can help us remember that there is more to life than what this world has to offer – after all, God is with me on the journey. He will not let me go, and He has reserved a place for me in heaven for eternity.

Johnny C. (aka “Igor”)

Monday                                                                                            March 17, 2025

There is no better way to start your day than walking into a room full of positivity. Before we embarked on our lesson for the day, we prayed in and gave our thanks to God. Then, before Chaplain Bruce T. made his way down the aisle, we needed him to go to the back of the room! On our feet, we clapped as he danced his way down to the front.

We started our lesson from the book Living in the Village by listening to Bruce T. explain how big businesses use marketing tools to persuade us to spend our money. We watched a video about the “Marshmallow Method” and why it’s important to wait and not rush into anything at the first sight of financial progress.

We then took a test over Chapters 1 and 2, which we discussed last week. Afterwards, we went into our next phase of BetterMan. David F. lead us as we read out of our pamphlets about unfinished business. He stated why it was important to know where you come from, because you must know that in order to know where you’re going. Then we broke into groups to discuss our perspectives. Some of the questions were along the lines of, “If you can change one thing about your upbringing, what would it be?” Basically all of the questions were some version of the question, “Is there any ‘unfinished business’ from your past that you believe is still affecting you today?”

Group work is an essential part of PEP; it really connects us as brothers and pushes us to open up in order to truly be men in the right way. After finishing up in our groups, we closed out class by practicing our pitches for the upcoming Big Idea Pitch event. It was helpful to hear some wise feedback from our In-Prison Manager, Adam W. We look forward to growing and learning throughout our PEP journeys.

Desmond B. (aka “Lil Ron Ron”)

Tuesday                                                                                            March 18, 2025

When we entered the PEP classroom, the first thing we did was greet our fellow brothers. Then, we got our name tags off the wall and went to some tables with computers. Before we sat down or started testing, we prayed in. After we said “Amen,” we took our seats and got ready to test. Today was our class’s first day of testing on the Entrepreneurship course. We had an hour to test, but during the test they called chow and everyone went to the lunchroom to eat.

When we came back to class, they needed to make sure everyone was there so that no one would be left out. Once everyone came back, we proceeded with the test. After we finished testing, we got up from our tables and computers, and they put our chairs back in order so that we could begin our second half of class, which was Toastmasters. Toastmasters is a public speaking curriculum where we give speeches in front of the class. We are on Project #1, called the “Ice Breaker” speech, which lasts four to six minutes. The point of this speech is to let our class know a little bit about ourselves and what it was like growing up. Most of us spoke about how we got here and where we are trying to go in life.

During a speech, we are not allowed to use “crutch words” or slang. If we do, they let us know by hitting a bell, and they keep a record of which of these words we used so that we can work on not using them. Because our class is as large as it is, with almost one hundred participants, we had to split the class in two to complete this first speech. A couple of people talked about their life until it was time to go, at which point we bowed our heads and prayed out. We put our name tags on the wall and walked back to our dorm, finishing another successful day in PEP.

Emmanuel B. (aka “Fake Ja Rule”)

Wednesday                                                                                       March 19, 2025

We didn’t have class today because the Servant-Leaders had a meeting in the morning, and in the afternoon the last class of PEP graduates, Relentless ’25, held a Clubhouse meeting. But that didn’t stop us from having a productive day in the dorm. It was certainly relaxed though, even though everybody had pitch sheets to get signed. So throughout the day, we were all pitching our businesses to each other and working on perfecting our skills.

Some of us were studying our Living in the Village workbooks, getting ready for the next lecture and test on Monday, while others were busy studying our Entrepreneurship textbook to get ready for that test next Tuesday. Those tests are hard and require a lot of studying to do well.

They posted the Living in the Village tests in the dorm on the wall so we could see how we did. Overall, it was a productive and relaxed day in the dorm. Some of the Servant-Leaders came back at lunch and helped those of us who wanted help with what they could. About half of the Servant-Leaders left after lunch, but the few that remained were really helpful. This class has a lot to offer and without the hand up, a lot of us will not make it in the future. We are truly grateful for the opportunity that PEP has given us.

In the afternoon, we watched TV and just enjoyed each other’s company in a place that is so much less hostile than anywhere else in the system. Thank you PEP for everything.

Julian B. (aka “Joda-Wish”)

Thursday                                                                                           March 20, 2025

Today was a busy and productive day in our PEP class. Class began as usual around 8 a.m., this time with everyone wearing white shoes dancing from the back of the room! We opened with our daily prayer and had a class discussion on consciousness. Everyone made excellent points on how important it is for all of us to be aware of certain situations as well as ourselves.

An executive volunteer came in and taught us Chapters 3 and 4 from our Entrepreneurship textbook. We discussed business idea generation, initial evaluation and external analysis. He’s an excellent teacher, and he did a great job explaining how these topics relate to our own business ideas. We were dismissed for our lunch break and returned at 1 p.m.

The second half of class was dedicated to Toastmasters. We are finishing Project #1 and have begun to get more comfortable speaking to an audience. We are also discovering the speaking skills we already have, and which skills need our attention. Each of our classmates spoke for four to six minutes. We speak about ourselves and what brought us to prison and PEP.

We were dismissed at 3 p.m. and returned to our pods. We had dinner at 4:30 p.m., followed by our individual pod and team meetings at 5 p.m. We met with our accountability groups and did a 360 assessment on a participant and discussed accountability and integrity. We finish the evening by doing our assignments, practicing our pitches, spending time together and preparing for another great day in PEP.

God bless PEP and all of our brothers.

John B. (aka “Bobby Bouchea”)

Friday                                                                                                 March 21, 2025

We came to class to continue with our first Toastmasters project with noticeable apprehension and ended the day with a pleasant surprise. As soon as we got our IDs and sat down for Toastmasters, everyone with Jackie Chans had to go to the back of the room and dance up to the front. By the time we danced and sat down, it was time for Toastmasters.

When we got toward the end of the class, we got a guest speaker who is famous in the Texas prison system: Keidrain B. of Brewster Trucking Co. Everyone was full of life as soon as he entered the room. We asked a bunch of questions, and it was a quite stimulating discussion. Keidrain B. told us his story about where he came from, and it got us all going crazy. We even gave him a fun name: T. Pain, and he sings “Let me buy you a drank” with a little dance. It was quite an ecstatic atmosphere in the PEP room!

Then, the Toastmasters lead closed out by asking us who our favorite Toastmaster (speaker) of today was. Now that most of us are done with Project #1, we will be moving on to Project #2. This day pumped most of our brothers up, and we will be looking forward to what PEP has to offer us in the coming months. After we prayed out, some of us got to talk to our fellow PEP brothers before heading back to our dorms. Thank you PEP for a great experience – in prison!

Damarte B. (aka “Bruh-Man from the fifth floor”)

Expressions

“I think, therefore I am.”

– René Descartes

Descartes was a philosopher born in the late 1500s. Known as the father of modern philosophy, his definition of this quote – the very act of doubting one’s existence – proves that a thinking entity (or self) exists. Reading this quote really got me thinking (no pun intended) about being aware of my own consciousness and/or whether my subconscious is a separate self – as in, its own entity. Is thinking actually a manifestation of thoughts being subconsciously aware of oneself? There must be a thinker (self) to have the thought, and those thoughts turn into feelings or actions.

Can one determine his existence with just thought? Do we question our own existence? Does thought equal consciousness? Is consciousness an identity unto itself? These are all questions that you may ask yourself when reading such a broad quote. I’ve asked myself these questions, as well as some deeper questions, such as: does dualism exist? Are your mind, body and soul distinct, and if so, are they aware of each other individually?

These are just some of the questions I ponder daily. Other questions include: where does our conscious awareness come from? Is there a God? Does said God control our awareness? If we are unable to prove our own existence, are we really alive? Are thought and awareness the equivalent of consciousness? I don’t know, and I don’t think we’ll ever know.

Reading this quote keeps me grounded and reminds me how little I truly am compared to the vast imagination of thought.

Henry C. (aka “Honey Boo-Boo”)

Monday                                                                                            March 10, 2025

We started class by putting up our cups, grabbing our name badges and sitting in a quiet Monday morning fog – then all of a sudden, it was time: every man wearing a green jacket was instructed to go to the back of the room to get his dance on, and it was fun and funky. One guy had to do the “Wheel of Doom,” which has a layout similar to the Wheel of Fortune. The Wheel of Doom is just a fun game and accountability tool that the Prison Entrepreneurship Program uses to lighten the mood of prison while helping to wash off the tough exterior that a prison environment creates.

After more dances and laughs, we began our first day with Bruce T., one of our many wonderful executive volunteers. He began by introducing us to the class that he will be teaching us called “Living in the Village.” He likes to refer to it as “Living in the Neighborhood,” since his PEP fun name is Mr. Rogers from the old TV show Sesame Street. We covered a brief history of America’s economy from the Great Depression to the housing bubble busting (2007-2008). Then we moved on to the four steps of “getting your house in order” covered in Chapter 2 of the personal finance book Living in the Village, along with many other invaluable facts.

Once his class concluded, we moved back to selecting class members’ fun names. We chose many great fun names, and the whole class got a good laugh. Most of the names are based on cartoon characters from movies and TV shows.

After returning from lunch, we were introduced to another class called Toastmasters, which is a class committed to developing communication and leadership skills. Today’s PEP class was entertaining and gave us some solid insight into what challenges lie ahead.

Jason B. (aka “Shaggy from Scooby-Doo”)

Tuesday                                                                                            March 11, 2025

As we walked into the classroom today, everybody was excited and ready to give their business pitches. Jeremy W. started his journey with us as an emcee, and he did great. The men living in M-pod had to dance, followed by Zach B., Javier C. and Jaime P. giving us our two Words of the Day: consistent and consistency. The definition of consistent is “acting or done the same way over time, especially to be fair or accurate,” while “the quality of always doing or behaving in similar ways” defines the word consistency.

Next, we were given the BPC pitch sheet by Jeffery L. (aka “The Weather Man”), who told us to memorize our pitches by the end of the weekend, if possible. Then we ran through our first two pitches (Jaime P. first, then Felix W.) before we had to do the “danger quiet game,” aka count time with consequences. Afterward, we heard from Jonathan C. about his super useful chemical clean-all solution; Kyveon H. with his breakfast food truck and famous glazed donut cheesy burger; Patrick V. with his EV charging mobile assistance; Jason K. and his doggy daycare/Hilton hotel grooming facility; Craig S. with his Boston’s best burgers and subs in the back of a food truck idea; Jyron K. with his trucking logistics company; Terry N. with his power washing business; and Juan Z. with his EV trucking logistics company. Most of these gentlemen are from J-Pod, where we make millionaire moguls.

This journal session was fun, and we hope you gained insight into a normal day in PEP.

Elijah B. (aka “Lloyd from Dumb & Dumber”)

Wednesday                                                                                       March 12, 2025

This morning heading into the PEP classroom, we could all see our brothers smiling and greeting each other. We entered the room and everyone was shaking hands, and you could just feel all the positive energy. Next, we grabbed our name badges and found out where we were going to sit today before we had our daily pray-in.

Right after pray-in, the next thing we heard was, “Everyone with white shoes on, head to the back of the room!” The entire place came alive, and the music turned on; all of our brothers started dancing and clapping. If there was a man in the room that wasn’t fully awake, they sure were now! Then it was time to sit down for the “Word of the Day.” Today’s two words were “sight” and “vision.” Jeremy W. and Orrian E. gave their thoughts about these words and what the words mean to them. They went back and forth about it, and then for about five minutes or so, they picked people out of the crowd that had their hands up, asking them what their thoughts were. One of our PEP brothers said something that hit home with us: one day, when he was driving down a road in his hometown, a building came into view. He could envision himself running a business out of it, and it took fifteen years to make it happen, but he never lost his vision. It all starts with a vision, and it can take years, but if you never lose sight of your vision, you’ll make it happen.

We concluded class with Toastmasters, which is a course that is a beast of its own. Its focus is on helping us become more effective communicators, and it is just one of the many tools that PEP uses to rehabilitate us for society. Finally, we prayed out and went home for the day.

Charles B. (aka “Beaker from The Muppets”)

Thursday                                                                                           March 13, 2025

This morning, we walked into class and were greeted by the Servant-Leaders. On our way to get to our name tags/badges, we greeted one another and, once we retrieved our badges, we sat in our assigned seats indicated by a chart that tells us where we’ll be sitting for the day. Our seating chart changes every day or two so that we get to know everybody in our class. We found our seats and settled in.

Every day, the screens will say something like “everybody with a green jacket, go to the back of the room,” which means it’s time for those men to dance down the aisle. Everyone who isn’t dancing gets up and claps for the ones who are dancing, and it’s a pretty good way to start the day. Also every day, we also have a Word (or Words) of the Day; today’s words were “endurance” and “self-discipline.” A couple of Servant-Leaders spoke about these words and then let a few of us from the current class speak about them as well.

Afterwards, we had a special guest Gerald D. come and talk to us for a while and give us his testimony. He did nine years on a 10-year sentence and is now on PEP’s staff. After he finished, we talked about and created our PEP Coat of Arms, which is a vision board with our head shots glued to a superhero’s body; we also need to include two of PEP’s 10 Driving Values on there, along with some other images that express who we are and what we represent. It was another great day in PEP!

Joshua B. (aka “Sho-Nuff”)

Friday                                                                                                 March 14, 2025

Good morning, PEP family and friends! We started this great Friday off with our daily meet and greet. Then we prayed in as a family, followed by dancing. That’s when we saw this on the screen: “If you think you will be a CEO, to the back of the room!” So, all of us in the current class got up and started to dance, beginning class with positive energy as everyone laughed jokingly with their PEP brothers.

As we continued with our morning, the two emcees gave us the Word of the Day: “reason,” which means a basis or cause, as for some belief, action, fact, event, etc. One of the emcees made some good statements about what is the reasoning on the things we do and why we do it. As we went on thru class we gave some guys their fun names. It was pretty funny. One person got Cotton from King of the Hill and somebody else got Thumbs off of the movie Spy Kids. It brings back a lot of our late 90’s and early 2000’s childhood movies we use to enjoy watching as kids while growing up. While we were doing the names three people got the wheel of doom. The class got them to do boot camp. They had them march around class yelling at them as if they were in basic training. We got information on a family package on the people at the PEP Headquarters so they can contact our family. Once we came back from our break, we got into our book and PowerPoint of Entrepreneurship. The guy that was up front gave us a powerful statement on how to start a business and how to maintain a business. He gave us some key tips on the business he has and what it will take to sustain a business. The pros and cons of having a business. After his PowerPoint, he answered some questions from the guys of our current class. This is the journey of how us guys in PEP class was on this beautiful Friday.

Martavious B. (aka “Squirrel Master”)

Expression

“I can choose to sit in perpetual sadness, immobilized by the gravity of my loss, or I can choose to rise from pain and treasure the most precious gift I have-life itself.” -Walter Anderson, “Overcoming Obstacles”

This quote means a lot to me and was taught to me by my grandmother when I was a young boy. It’s about being able to channel your energy, especially after the loss of a loved one such as my grandfather. He was a huge father figure to me growing up, and it showed me two things. You can be sad and give up on life, or channel that sadness into something positive. Being young and not knowing how to cope I chose sports as an outlet, as many of us have. I channeled my energy to be good at football, but turned out to be great at it. I earned two D-1 scholarships: One to OSU and one to LSU. I felt like I had the world in the palm of my hand. Still coping was a part of who I became, but being young I chose to hang with the popular crowd and smoke weed. After smoking so much I began to slack in my studies and failed a history class with a 68%. “No pass, no play!”, I’ll never forget my coach telling me this, while simultaneously ripping my heart out of my chest. Having lost my D-1 scholarship after completely giving up, I had to find another outlet to channel my energy. That began when I purchased a 1967 Galaxy 500 at the age of twenty. With the car not being drivable, I towed it back home where I began to restore it to its former glory days. After getting the car running with a little help from YouTube University, I finally found a passion in life again. I chose to rise up and find something worth living for again by bringing life back into old classic cars. With that passion still fueling me today and having restored three other old school vehicles, I can’t wait to show my children that there is more to life than sadness.

Zachary B. (aka “Phineas from Phineas and Ferb”)

Tuesday                                                                                                 March 4, 2025

Today was our first day of class, and it was a totally different atmosphere than what most of us are used to – there was screaming and yelling as soon as we walked through the door, and the way the brothers greeted us broke down many walls. The greeting was welcoming, and you could feel the love. We saw the power of love today with people gathered together from all types of backgrounds, ages and ethnicities in one room.

That was only the beginning. The class was filled with excitement and positive energy. All the Servant-Leaders were easygoing, and you could tell they cared. Nobody had a chip on his shoulder or was angry. We were all united and of one accord, and the dancing kept everybody laughing and busy. Then we gave each other fun names, and this part of the day was hilarious. But the real shift came at the end, when we all had to do some leg raises on the floor. We couldn’t stop laughing.

Also, we were surprised when the guy from the free world spoke. David F. had been to prison before, not once but three times. He’s been through what we are going through and succeeded, taking PEP up on its offers when he left. Hopefully, the brothers are all encouraged the same way. His testimony wasn’t spectacular, but it was real; we could all see that. If he could go through this program and stay connected when he left, then we all felt we could do the same.

Overall, today was great, and PEP is going to be much more than we can even begin to fathom.

Fred A. (aka “Logan from Blue Streak”)

Wednesday                                                                                          March 5, 2025

We began our work by splitting into groups to discuss the two first Driving Values, “Fresh Start” Outlook and Servant-Leader Mentality, and what each one means to each of us. “Fresh Start” Outlook is embracing the opportunity for a new beginning. It’s about shedding past mistakes and focusing on the future with optimism and determination. We agreed this is like a clean slate for a fair chance to show our potential. It will allow us to restore our dignity regardless of background or personal history. We strive to equip human beings to achieve their full potential. We believe that people can change, dignity can be restored and as a result, society will reap bountifully.

The second Driving Value we discussed was Servant-Leader Mentality, which emphasizes leading by example and prioritizing the needs of others. This mindset helps build strong, supportive relationships while leading with empathy and respect. We discovered PEP believes that with leadership comes the overriding responsibility to be of service to others. We believe the contributions we make in the lives of others are far more important than our own accomplishments. We will lead by example with humility at sacrifice of personal glory.

PEP exists because of our desire to serve all those with whom we come into contact, especially our participants, executives, partners, donors, prison staff and the community at large. We agreed it is important to prioritize being of service to others. We also discussed being humble in leadership positions to build strong supportive relations and seeing others succeed over glorifying our own success. These are very important lessons we learned to help build our character and help us begin our journey to become better men and productive members of society.

Matthew A. (aka “Velma”)

Thursday                                                                                           March 6, 2025

Today in class, we took a personality test to understand our perspectives on different scenarios. The whole time, we laughed and had fun as positive energy and overall good vibes filled the atmosphere.

We have a daily ritual in our PEP class of starting each day with prayer, which is a true blessing from above. Then, as a class, we move to the back of the room and dance to the front. It’s a great way to start the day.

Today, we came to the front of the class and let our classmates give us fun names. That’s one of PEP’s ways of washing prison off of us. It’s pretty cool, honestly – no other prison program does this. We have Servant-Leaders who ensure we take the necessary steps toward true character development. As a class, we are honored to be here because these people could have left us stranded in those nasty old prisons; instead, they reached out to us, giving us a new direction for our lives. We all need it for sure.

PEP is about helping us grow to be more responsible, positive, self-motivated people for our community and our families. Today was the start of greatness, and we are eager to see what else PEP has to offer!

Jayden B. (aka “Shrek”)

Friday                                                                                                 March 7, 2025

Today we did not have class, but we did a lot in the dorm. Some of my fellow PEP brothers woke up early and got together to read the Bible. We read Scripture and shared our testimonies and experiences over some coffee. We share our stories to uplift each other; we also want to warn each other of our mistakes so that no one else repeats them.

The PEP environment helps us break the walls that we have created – both in the world and in prison – to protect ourselves when we had to live in “survival mode.” We see each other slowly break those cycles by openly communicating and sharing as we learn to use our 10 Driving Values, one of them being Love. We also serve each other and understand we have been given a great opportunity in PEP.

Throughout the day, we can see many PEP brothers exercise, study hard and work on assignments in order to change our old mentality. We also give ourselves breaks from studying and reading by watching TV or using our tablets in order to reach out to our loved ones on the outside for moral support. They remind us to give it our all in the program and become somebody different, to keep learning and changing our mentality.

We appreciate this wonderful opportunity we have been given to change our lives because now we have a bright future to look forward to. We practice applying the 10 Driving Values both inside and outside the classroom as we anxiously await the day we can apply them in the free world with family and friends, as well as in business.

Jaime B. (aka “The Map from Dora the Explorer”)

Expression

“Life is no straight and easy corridor along which we travel free and unhampered, but a maze of passages through which we must seek our way, lost and confused, now and again checked in a blind alley. But always if we have faith, a door will open for us, not perhaps one that we ourselves would ever have thought of, but one that will ultimately prove good for us.”

– AJ Cronin

This is a quote by AJ Cronin from the book Who Moved My Cheese. This quote hits home for me on so many levels. It is a good indication of how hard life is, but how faith in God can prevail and that He will show you a way out of the dark and into the light.

It makes me reflect on my life and how I once had everything going for me: a nice house; a great job; a beautiful, loving wife; two happy boys; three cars … but I lost my direction and faith after Covid hit. When I lost my job and couldn’t find steady work, I ended up going to a dark place and lost it all. My house, cars, wife – my whole life came crashing down, and I ended up in prison. This was the start of my maze of passages, feeling lost in a prison world I didn’t know and confused as to why and how I even ended up in this situation.

Then my dad passed away, and I realized I had no one to release to and nowhere to go. I hit rock bottom, and this was my blind alley check. A friend of mine had convinced me to go back to God and start reading the Bible, so I thought, “What do I have to lose, right?” About a week later, my parole was denied and another week later my short way was denied too. So, I decided to pray about it, put my faith in God and His process. I prayed for Him to please show me what He had planned for me, to basically show me the reason why I’m still in prison.

Three weeks later, I received PEP’s message on my tablet. I signed up for the program, sent in the application and got accepted. Now here I am, on a journey I never would have thought of or even known about. But by me having faith, I was led on a course that is proving to be extremely good for me.

 Jeremy B. (aka “Tom Hanks from Castaway”)