Week 1
Week in Review
Monday October 2, 2017
Today truly was an eventful day for everyone here who constitutes PEP’s winter class of 2018, also known as the “Sovereign Kings of ’18!” The day was important, busy and fun all at the same time. Days like this are something we value here in PEP. After all, work is an important part of life and it should be fun and rewarding. And that is just what it was today.
The reason why today was so important is because it marked day two of test taking for our first six tests after graduating PEP’s Phase One. By entering Phase Two, it was now time to reap the benefits of all of that time that we spent studying and quizzing each other over flashcards. For some, it may have been time to reap the results of not studying. Either way, today we were able to gauge how much knowledge we actually retained. Since the scores of all of the tests we take are posted in our pods (the dormitory areas where we live), you also saw the scores of your fellow PEP brothers as well. This not only gave us a chance to keep up with each other and the progress that we all are making, but it also was a chance to acknowledge and congratulate your brothers for putting forth the effort and making the necessary sacrifices to do well and pass our PEP business tests.
There is never a dull moment or any time to waste while in PEP – upon completing our tests, it was time for our next order of business, involving a heroic transformation for each and every one of us. We all got to pick from a variety of superheroes we wanted to be, and then take a print out of that superhero and design it to our liking. Now, simply coloring a superhero and gluing it to construction may not seem all that fun to some. However, there is one specific, tide-turning detail not yet mentioned: we got to replace the face of the superhero with a picture of our own face! Now these superheroes look better than ever before! It was almost like capturing an image of the superhero inside of us that we all have the potential to be for our family, friends and loved ones. This is just one way that we embrace a “Fresh Start” Outlook (one of PEP’s 10 Driving Values) by striving to equip human beings to achieve their full potential! Who are we? – WE ARE PEP! And we live life “between the wings”!
Julio A. (a.k.a. “Dingle Berry”)
Tuesday October 3, 2017
In class today after our pray-in, peer educator Jesse B. came up and explained to us about the Family Liaisons who will be contacting our loved ones, keeping them aware of our progress here in the program. We are to fill out this family form along with our list with up to four guests to attend our graduation in March. He then handed out another paper, asking us for information about our education level and other information about filing taxes. We all filled everything out and turned it back in. It was a real short information sheet. Then we went back to finishing out Coats of Arms, where we take pictures of cartoon characters and customize then, cut them out and replace the head of the cartoon character with a photograph of ourselves. After finishing up our Coats of Arms, we moved into the Conduct Contract where we had to meet with the In-house Prison Manager so that he could sign off on the contract. In this contract we have to write what the program can expect out of us and why we decided to join the Prison Entrepreneurship Program. So while waiting around to do the contract, we sat around and talked with each other. We found out when we were starting in the Computer Lab and Toastmasters. Jesse B. also filled us in on who will be teaching us out of the Entrepreneurship textbook: Bert S. He let us know how he is and how we should conduct ourselves while Bert is teaching the class. So today was another step on our journey that we are pursuing.
Wesley A. (a.k.a. “Gary Coleman”)
Wednesday October 4, 2017
Today we anticipated a day of final initiation into PEP. We were supposed to go down to the PEP room and finalize our PEP contracts, but due to an event that popped up, our In-house Management gave us the day off. All of the PEP brothers took this time to rest and really reflect on the past couple of days. We have been so busy studying and preparing for the six tests that included rules, PEP’s 10 Driving Values, a keyboard test, Associated Press Stylebook (covering rules about writing), business vocabulary, and personal finance. It gave us a lot of satisfaction when we got our grades – it was definitely worth all the missed TV shows and missed recreation time.
Yesterday all the PEP brothers were down in the PEP room and we were all working on our Coats of Arms, which was basically superheroes with a big picture of our heads pasted to them. It really took me back to see us all working on this project. Some of us were coloring while others were gluing, doing stencils and cutting out the superheroes. It was really nice just seeing all of us working together, especially with 90 of us in one room. We have really come a long way in our journey of transformation to be productive and positive members of society. Towards the end of class, our facilitators asked one person at random which Driving Value really stuck out to him, and it got me thinking of the value that really sticks out to me: Integrity. PEP defines integrity this way: “We model and require complete honesty and integrity in all our relationships and endeavors. Integrity means more than simply the absence of deception; it means we are completely forthright in all our dealings. We say what needs to be said, not simply what people want to hear. We are truthful with ourselves, listening attentively to feedback from others as they speak into our lives, correct us and reveal to us our blind spots.” Overall, it has been a good day and we look forward to tomorrow as our journey continues.
Jencey A. (a.k.a. “Little Debbie”)
Thursday October 5, 2017
Today was our first “official” class in Phase Two part of the program when we started the day in orientation of the Toastmasters International program. This is a program that will teach us public speaking and leadership skills. We will learn by watching and listening to others who are fellow club members, those who have the knowledge and experience of how Toastmasters works since they are graduates of the program.
We were also informed that all homework assignments are to be completed fully. We are also required to always come prepared to speak. A lot of the fellow class members, including myself, are not very comfortable with speaking in front of big groups. This is a program that is designed to assist us in learning how to be more comfortable with public speaking by being more confident around others. This will help us in many ways by improving and changing our lifestyle so we can be more successful.
The graduates showed us an example of how the Toastmasters program works. They also informed us about how we will be judged on our speaking skills and progress. Full participation and accountability will be required, which we will be responsible for. This program will also show us how to express ourselves better, sell our ideas with confidence and gain leadership skills along the way. Then after we ate lunch, PEP’s CEO, Bert S., came to give us a summary of the entrepreneurship and business part of PEP’s curriculum. He also gave us our first assignment: create a business plan advisor. The advisor will be assisting us in getting our business plans to be more presentable and effective.
We learned that every problem presents an opportunity. As a group, we all went over a few of our fellow classmates’ business ideas and their plans. We talked about the advantages and disadvantages of their business plans. For example, the resources available upon release, cost, competition and strategies, as well as problems that could arise. We were also assigned Chapter Three, which we need to read by next Thursday (a week from now).
Raul A. (a.k.a. “Count Dracula”)
Expressions
“Go to school, graduate, build businesses and become a successful investor.”
-Robert T. Kiyosaki
This quote is from a book called “Rich Dad’s Cash Flow Quadrant” by Robert T. Kiyosaki relates to my personal growth. The first three words, “go to school,” are important because we go to school when we attend PEP classes to learn about ourselves and our strengths and weaknesses. Once you know what they are you can work on them and be able to better yourself in order for you to become the man you want to be. I have a few weaknesses that I’m trying to work on so I can grow and better myself, and by doing that it will help me in the long run to be able to follow the words of this quote. Educating yourself is the best thing you can do for your own personal growth. Most importantly, completing the goals in this quote can help you on your own path to financial freedom. When you can honestly tell yourself that you are “financially free,” you are considered a wealthy man with no regrets and strong personal characteristics. That is something that I want for my life.
There is another quote by the same author that others choose to live by: “Go to school, get good grades, and then find a secure, safe job.” A lot of people are afraid to risk changing the way they act or the way they live simply because fear is stopping them from doing great things in life. Before I read this book, I was planning on being this kind person too, but I have since read that these people tend to work for a long time in their lives and expect the government to help them out with benefits. Now I want to become financially free, so that is why this quote helped me a lot with my personal growth.
Alejandro A. (a.k.a. “Tickle Me Elmo”)