Estes Fall 2025 Weekly Journals
Week 2
Monday July 28, 2025
We had an amazing day today! Honestly, every day has been awesome since our class started our journey through PEP. We are truly blessed to have the opportunity to learn, grow, and be a part of something that is greater than ourselves. This morning after praying in, we had the privilege of Bruce T. joining us to teach us and review the first two chapters of Living in the Village, a book about financial planning. Bruce T. introduced our class to some financial terms. We learned ways to deal with money and that, when investing, “Slow and steady wins the race.”
Next, we had some fun and finished the remainder of giving guys their “Fun Names.” We believe these are important because they give us something in common to bond over. They also help to break the ice between us. PEP Fun Names make you feel like you belong. We then found out who the CEOs of the companies were. It was exciting because we all worked very hard writing and delivering our business pitches during The Big Idea Pitch event. Those of us on M-pod are proud to say that we have nine CEOs in our pod. Each one of us did great.
During the second half of class, we found out which brothers and companies we were going to work with. We were broken up into groups of four, and each team member was assigned a role in the company: Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) and Chief Operations Officer (COO). We got together in our teams and discussed each part of the business, as well as which parts we will need to present later on.
Then as a class, we participated in two activities: one taught us that in helping someone else find happiness, you’ll find your own happiness; the other activity (working together to build a structure) showed us the importance of effective communication. Every day, we are growing stronger as a class. Congratulations to all the PEP brothers that were given their hard-earned positions of CEOs. Well done!
Rohn B. (aka “The Allstate Guy”)
Tuesday July 29, 2025
The PEP brotherhood here at the Sanders Estes Unit had an amazing day today. As usual, we started our morning giving thanks to God for all He has blessed us with, especially our families. The first order of business was taking an exam we had been preparing for. It was on the history and basic fundamentals of finance and entrepreneurship in America. As is everything we do, this test of our knowledge was intense, with both multiple choice and essay questions.
After returning from chow together, we sat at long tables and created our own personal Coat of Arms. This consisted of our pictures pasted onto the bodies of various superheroes and other characters on a posterboard. It was also decorated as a personalized representation of us. Some of us didn’t know what to make of it at first, but what we came to realize is that during the exercise we not only worked together as a team, but we also got to know each other better.
The Prison Entrepreneurship Program is unique in that it is a test of wills and a constant challenge. We are all striving here to become better men, fathers, sons and brothers for our societies and our families. At the same time, we have all accepted personal responsibility for what we have done wrong and are paying our debt to society.
We would personally like to thank all who have made this transformational journey possible, and that includes the PEP leadership; the executives who volunteer their time; and our PEP graduates and brothers, our Servant-Leaders.
Robert B. (aka “The Wacky Inflatable Man”)
Wednesday July 30, 2025
Today was a very joyful day, waking up thanking our Father in heaven first and foremost before anything. Our next task was to record an interview for virtual Family Day. This task alone brought a lot of positive inspiration to our current class of Fall ’25. This interview was to give the Family Liaison some key information to be able to contact and relay information to our family members about our progress in the program.
Another inspirational task we had today was the joy of taking pictures for birthday cards for our children. It was pretty amazing seeing the smiles among all of our faces as we took turns taking goofy pictures with props. These tasks may seem small to some, but to others it’s the inspiration we need to keep motivated and pushing forward to show our kids the change we are going through to be better fathers, or even just a better person for those who don’t have children.
The brotherly love we show each other here is another fantastic thing to witness. When we are in our dorms, we come together to help one another with studying, cleaning and even inspirational tasks. We’re taking and using these tools to build one another up prior to our re-entry back into society. We’re all anxious for graduation and to be able to walk across the stage to receive our PEP diploma and Baylor certificate.
Myron B. (aka “Radio”)
Thursday July 31, 2025
What an awesome day we had today. We just want to thank the Lord for another day that we were not promised. He gave us another day to grow and become better men for our families and have a second chance at life. PEP is a true blessing, and we are so grateful for the chance to be here.
Every morning after we pray-in, we have a quote of the day – today’s was: “The teacher can only teach the teachable.” Now being prideful is a dismissiveness syndrome coupled with an over-estimation of one’s own wisdom or ability. This causes people to dismiss information they need because they arrogantly (or ignorantly) assume they don’t need it. Are we teachable? The answer is yes! We are open-minded and ready to learn something new every day.
Today, we learned about entrepreneurship: the art of science and process for success that lays the groundwork for a successful small business. We learned an approach to developing a quality business idea, where we were asked to list and evaluate our own personal skill sets and examine the marketplace for opportunities. We also learned that location is important when starting a business. Knowing your customers is key, and getting that first customer is the hardest.
We started our first Toastmasters (public speaking curriculum) today with the Icebreaker speech. Just being able to listen to our brothers’ speeches was a blessing. PEP is truly something beautiful, and it’s a real pleasure to be a part of a new family of brothers. We are starting a new chapter in our lives with improved character to achieve great success. We cannot wait to see everyone at graduation!
Michael B. (aka “Cow from the Barnyard”)
Friday August 1, 2025
Today was a great day! We went to breakfast at around 3:45 a.m. for breakfast burritos. Not only did the good Lord wake us up, but He gave us another chance to learn how to be better men for our families. It started out as a quiet morning, due to the fact that the current class had the morning session off. We were able to complete our homework because the dorm was empty.
We were also able to make commissary. Servant-Leaders had a project management class that lasted most of the day, so our pod was quiet and empty. See, we’ve been working on our team business pitches for weeks now. Now it was time to put the hard work into action, showcasing the competition from within. With less then a month until the next pitch day in front of real-world executives, it’s time to get down to business.
Every day is a journey that’s all about teamwork and dedication. Just being able to hear the brothers and their stories is enough to put you in a trance. Sometimes you get taken on a journey that you don’t even realize you are on. It’s truly something beautiful and just a pleasure to be a part of. So, don’t think PEP is just a test and competition. It’s a brotherhood of like-minded individuals dedicated to character development and rebuilding that which may have felt lost for so long. We can’t wait to see everyone at graduation, making this journey worth every step.
David B. (aka “Hank from King of the Hill”)
Expressions
“The true measure of strength is based on who you lift up, not who you beat down.”
– Unknown
There have been different variations of this quote credited to Booker T. Washington, Denzel Washington and Kamala Harris. However, the original author is unknown.
Often, I find myself reflecting on this quote and sharing it with the men around me. I use it as a friendly reminder to myself and others that strength in character is reflected in how we treat others. Those who have used this quote have several things in common, including that they all demonstrate care for the community. Likewise, my care for the PEP community is why I chose this quote.
This quote inspires me to demonstrate my strength by giving an encouraging word, lending a helping hand, being a positive influence and sharing with those in need. Furthermore, this quote inspires me because I believe that being able to uplift others is an important leadership characteristic. After all, part of Servant-Leader Mentality is making positive contributions in the lives of others.
As I continue to share this quote with the men around me, I am pleased to see that they receive it the same way I did when I first heard it: with an open heart and a desire to help others.
Like most of the men here, my family is waiting for my return to society. This quote serves as a reminder that our true strength will be demonstrated when we lift up our families, our friends and our community.
Nikki B. (aka “Andre 2000”)
Week 1
Monday July 21, 2025
Today was a very tiring day, especially after coming off of lockdown. We all came in with energy, but after we got that out of the way, it got real. We all got to introduce ourselves and learn what we want from the class, and we all seem to have the same agenda.
We have four days until the first event, and for the most part our class is ready to perform – only a few messed up, but it was just nervousness. We were given a lot of work to do, but it will be easy if everyone puts their hearts in it. We should embrace this and really try to do the work and accept the challenge because it will all be worth it in the end, as long as we try.
Toward the end of class today, we went over different aspects of class such as these weekly journals and Toastmasters, as well as the lessons we will learn going forward. We’re all very happy and excited to grow and be a part of this, to be honest. Today was good because we all got those first day jitters out of the way and really got class started.
When we all came back to the dorm, everyone was doing their elevator pitches. We were talking to each other and really helping one another come up with ideas to either speak clearer, louder, or just loosen up and have some fun. We’re happy to get started for real and engage in meeting our fellow classmates and walk the stage with them.
Jaymis A. (aka “Rafiki from The Lion King”)
Tuesday July 22, 2025
Today was an amazing day. The Lord woke us up this morning prepared for our second full day in PEP. As we know, knowledge is power. We walked into the classroom this morning and, lo and behold, there was a really awesome quote on the board. They asked us what came to mind when we read the quote. When we read this quote about “submission,” we thought about the fact that the only way we can truly change is to submit ourselves to something greater than ourselves. So every day, Servant-Leaders (graduates of the program) walk around taking notes and asking us to sit up and pay attention and things like that. We wondered why they seemed kind of hard on us – but then the Servant-Leaders took the floor and really opened up to us. They told us all that their jobs entailed, and it really blew my mind to see how much these men want to help us change for the better.
After the Servant-Leaders wrapped up, our In-Prison Manager, Adam W., got up there to speak, and he was so excited to get us ready to run our pitches in alphabetical order. So then, as we recited our pitches, he critiqued us, and we realized and were inspired by the amount of talent our classmates have as the pitches kept coming. We saw every man who stepped up in that power zone grow in a powerful way.
After our pitches were over, we were given the opportunity to take the Myers-Briggs test to learn our personality type and characteristics. So, we have to say like Ice Cube does, “Today was a good day.” Thank you for taking the time to read this and God bless.
Anthony A. (aka “Mater from Cars”)
Wednesday July 23, 2025
Today was an amazing day. Not only did He wake us up this morning, but He gave us another opportunity to talk, walk and change our ways to be better not only for us, but for our families as well.
Well, ladies and gentlemen, are you ready for what I’m about to talk about? Because it’s about to get spicy, like our class was all day today! After our pray-in to the Lord our Savior, we went to the back of the room and danced. Of course, the DJ played music that not even your body could resist – no matter how hard you tried, standing still wasn’t an option with this type of music and energy running through the class.
After the good energy flowed throughout the classroom, we were taught how to take a test on the laptop, and how it will be graded as well. Not only that, but LaDavious S. gave us some tips on how to pass our class, because one thing is for sure: our PEP brothers who work here care about us graduating and making a change not only in ourselves, but in the community as well.
After the lesson on how the tests are taken and graded, we finally got our PEP Fun Names and boy, did we have some fun! For a minute, it felt like we weren’t even behind a fence. While we were getting our Fun Names (nicknames), and all of us were laughing and treating each other as a family when class ended for the day.
After we all got back to our dorms, we started practicing and getting ready for our big Big Idea Pitch event on Friday. Just remember, “Teamwork makes the dream work.”
David A. (aka “The Pterodactyl”)
Thursday July 24, 2025
Today was a great day. We started the day off with a nice warm up when this message popped up on the screen: “Anybody who wants to go home, to the back of the room!” So we all got up, turned up really quickly, and some even went and went back a second time.
Then we proceeded with a prayer, which was awesome. After that, we discussed our networking cards as well as our thank you cards. We also talked about what we could expect tomorrow at the Big Idea Pitch event.
After that we jumped right into some practice pitches, and we were ready. Seems we are all getting better every day. A lot of us are still working out of nervous energy, myself included. We all pitched and then started “owning” our Fun Names with a lot of roasting and smiles. We went to lunch and got to go back to our pods for the first time since we’ve been in class, which was really nice.
As we got returned to the classroom that afternoon, people with undershirts had to go to the back of the classroom to dance up toward the front. We got a good warm-up and proceeded into assigning more fun names for a while, until we stopped to applaued an executive who came in named Scott S. (aka “Sweet Starbucks”), who is a financial advisor. He was awesome. We talked about a book called The 21st Century Entrepreneur. He spoke about Chapters 1 and 2, saying that the most important slide in the presentation was “Critical elements an entrepreneur must solve for success.” Scott S. answered a lot of questions, and we all greatly appreciated his time coming in. Then we talked more about our event tomorrow and how we are all super excited, especially to find out which of us will nominated a CEO.
Corey A. (aka “Cleveland Brown”)
Friday July 25, 2025
Today was exciting, The Big Idea Pitch event! We not only were blessed with another day from God, but we were blessed with wisdom and love from the executives! We started our morning with assigning some more Fun Names. We also held a pitch panel, where some of the guys were able to practice their pitches and get some really good feedback from some of the executives. It was really awesome to see everyone’s progress in delivering their pitches – fears were overcome; hard work was put forth; and goals were achieved. It was so encouraging and a beautiful thing to see.
The afternoon came and it was finally time to start the event. We entered the gym to a line of supporters: executives, PEP staff and Servant-Leaders all cheering us on and encouraging us. The experience was incredible! We pitched our big ideas twice before we had a break when executives gave us advice and words of encouragement.
We wrapped up the event with some touching testimonies and encouraging words. We also provided some Fun Names to a few newer executives, and they were good sports. We prayed-out at the end of the event, and when we got back to the classroom Adam W. encouraged us before David F. prayed over us. It was a wonderful day!
Once we got back to H-Pod, our Servant-Leaders were excited for us and wanted to know all about our day. It felt good to make them proud. PEP has been a blessing.
Micah A. (aka “Carlton Banks”)
Expression
“God has not forsaken me!”
– Yahweh
Through my life experiences, I know that God has always been by my side. At a young age I lost both my parents, and that meant my life was turned upside down. I felt like God had abandoned me as a kid despite being told about the love of God and how He protects us. I always asked Him why He took my parents when I needed them the most. At times, I felt lost and unworthy. As I grew up, I looked at the places and things I had been through and looked at how things could have been. I noticed that yes, He took what I loved most, but he gave me His love and mercy.
He has taken so many broken hearts and turned them into hearts of joy. He provided me with peace and comfort knowing that no matter what came my way, I was never alone. God has never forsaken me. Through Him, I have been blessed abundantly from people who have been placed in my life and those around me.
PEP has shown me brotherhood and fellowship from my brothers who to me were just other inmates. They turned into my PEP brothers and brothers in Christ. These brothers have shown me that no matter our background, religion or where we are from, being able to love the person next to you is the love of God. Being able to feel the love instead of pain allowed me to know that no matter where I am in this life, I know I am always loved by my parents and our God.
Eric A. (aka “Gary Coleman”)