Week 18

Week in Review

Monday August 8, 2016

For some of us we started our day with our last Toastmasters class, but for others we were off to computer lab. Most of us are done with all our computer lab assignments, but we have some voting to do for funny awards. Funny awards are awards that we give our brothers after graduation. It’s mostly to have a good time after all our hard work. For example, we vote for our brother with the cutes ears, or most likely to be an alien. After that they called us to go to the noon Toastmasters class. All of the speakers did very well – most of them did their pitches again.

All is good here at PEP, and we’re winding down and getting ready for graduation. I’m really looking forward to a much-earned break.

Jordan D. (a.k.a. Sweet Ellen DeGeneres)

Tuesday August 9, 2016

We are starting to wind down, as we are a few weeks away from graduation and I’m so ready. Today in class we did a few pray-outs for the guys that or going home. A pray out consists of some words of encouragement for our brothers just in case they are feeling down once they are released. We understand it can be tough out in society. Sometimes we need to see some familiar faces to encourage us to keep going. Of course even though it is serious, it would not be a complete pray-out without a little roasting. Don’t worry – we don’t put our brothers down, we just remind them of some of their embarrassing moments.

As for dorm life, we are all getting ready for the Business Plan Competition and are learning our pitches. All in all, today has been another blessed day.

Perry E. (a.k.a. Sweet Uncomfortable Pillow)

Wednesday August 10, 2016

Today when I woke up I realized what the date was, and it shocked me to see how close we are to graduation. All of us have come so far and improved so much since we first got to PEP. I am so proud of all my PEP brothers – every one of us deserves to walk across that stage and graduate. Tomorrow afternoon, we will be called out for our first test on the Crime and Punishment book we have been reading. Usually I would be nervous about it, but as we pass more and more tests we become more confident in ourselves. We start realizing we can do anything if we set our minds to it. Speaking with my classmates, I’ve noticed how many of us can’t wait to become servant leaders and help out the new group of guys after us.

Like I said in the beginning of this entry, it’s crazy to see how far we have all come.

Jessie F. (a.k.a. Sweet Chewbacca)

Thursday August 11, 2016

Today is test day. Before we took our test though, some of us volunteered to help out with the next class, called Phase One. What we basically do is help the Phase One class run smoothly. We help pass out assignments or check in homework. Our main privilege is to interact with our up-and-coming brothers and make sure that their experience through Phase One is a good one. Watching them grow in our family as we encourage them to give their best is a great honor, and it puts shoe leather on a couple of our 10 Driving Values: excellence (we seek to work with and learn from the best of the best) and love (we are committed to service in love).

As graduation approaches, we are all excited to see our families, not to mention them watching us walk across the stage. We can hardly wait!

Benselado F. (a.k.a. Sweet Disco Sister)

Expressions

What an experience! As I reminisce about the experience that I have been through with the Prison Entrepreneurship Program, I am blown away. My desire to change for the better strengthens each day that I wake up thanks to my newfound family. It is 47 days till my class graduates, and I am looking forward to that. The hard work and loss of sleep will finally pay off on that day. I hope that my classmates will make it to the finish line with me. I graduated from being a knucklehead in the prison system to being transformed into a better son, brother and friend. I am grateful. I can’t wait to show my family how much I have changed, and I can’t wait to apply all the things that I have learned in this beautiful program out in the free world.

Oscar G. (a.k.a. Sweet Aladdin)