Bell Winter 2026 Weekly Journals

Monday                                                                                                       October 20, 2025

We were given our assignments for personal fit and our leadership statement guidelines, a worksheet designed to help our business plans become clearer not only to the consumer but to ourselves as well. It also helped improve development by putting certain things into perspective. Each of these assignments began to get the gears turning as each man wrote out his story and résumé. We learned to use our backgrounds to our advantage and not to our hindrance. Whether we realized it or not, the Ten Driving Values were being learned and embedded into our mindset, giving us a fresh outlook on life. For most of us, it was a new perspective after years of chasing frivolous things.

Having a Servant-Leader mentality means realizing we needed to be the men we were meant to be—not just for ourselves but for the families waiting for our return. This program is more than just another course; it is a new chance and a new way of life that gives us an identity we can be proud of. Above all, in the Class of Winter 2026, we are changing men; working hard to strengthen our minds and sow seeds for the future. It is through PEP that this is possible, and we thank the Good Lord for placing this new opportunity in our path.

Jiovanni B.- (AKA “Similac”)

Tuesday                                                                                                      October 21, 2025

      We started today by doing our “Code of Arms” (which is basically a vision board of identification for the class). It was a real fun activity for us to do, giving us an opportunity to look into the future and see what it is that we want for our lives. We also worked on our pitches for the upcoming event that will be coming up on Halloween day. You can most definitely see positive transformations within the brothers in our class. This program has really helped us to come out of our shells, leaving the old negative mentality we had in the past and developing a new way of thinking. The challenge of public speaking has now been overcome and we are ready to take this Business Competition into stride.

      We have already accomplished several goals and it has been a wonderful experience for us all here at the Prison Entrepreneurship Program. Not only have we been given the opportunity to be great and transform our lives, but we will also learn to be a major positive influence to our loved ones, friends, and anyone we come in contact with. The class of Winter 26’ thanks you all who support us on our journey and welcome anyone who wants to join the PEP team with open arms.

We started the day by working on our “Coat of Arms,” which is like an individual vision board of identification for the class. It was a fun and meaningful activity that gave us the opportunity to look into the future and see what we wanted for our lives. We also worked on our pitches for the upcoming event on Halloween. You could clearly see positive transformations taking place within the brothers/classmates. This program truly helped us come out of our shells, leave behind the negative mentality of the past, and develop a new way of thinking. The challenge of public speaking is being overcome, and we are ready to take the Business Competition in stride.

We have already accomplished several goals, and so far, it has been a wonderful experience for us all at the Prison Entrepreneurship Program. Not only have we been given the opportunity to transform our lives, but we have also learned to become a positive influence on our loved ones, friends and everyone we came in contact with. The Class of Winter 2026 thanks all who support us on our journey and welcome anyone who wanted to join the PEP team with open arms.

Clifton B.- (AKA “Sour Patch Kid”)

Wednesday                                                                                                October 22, 2025

It was another day filled with positivity at PEP. The atmosphere that has been created is truly welcoming, giving us all a sense of belonging. Every day is a learning experience and another step toward creating a business for us and for the generations that will come after us. Getting down to business, we reviewed our worksheets for the Living in the Village workbook we are studying. This book taught us how to be financially prepared for a variety of scenarios that most of us face at some point in our lives and how to give back to the community to help improve it for everyone.

We were also given the opportunity to celebrate with some of our brothers who were getting ready to go home and begin the next phase of their new lives. We are incredibly grateful for these men who stayed in PEP to be Servant Leaders. We work hard each day, uplifting one another to stay focused and believe in ourselves and in the brotherhood we share. It is a true blessing to be in the company of great men who are all working to improve themselves and those around them. It is here at PEP that legacies are being born.

Malcolm B.- (AKA “Peach Cobbler”)

Thursday                                                                                                    October 23, 2025

Today was different from the others. We had the opportunity to listen to executives and professors who run million-dollar companies as they taught us the first two chapters of our Entrepreneurship workbook. We also listened to one of our alumni, who explained what it was like to go through the program when it first started, the difficulties of making a change on the inside, and how he took everything he had learned home. He described the many challenges he faced while starting his business. Diana was the first to speak, explaining the common challenges most people face and prompting us to think of ways to work around them. Some questions were real brain teasers that made us think outside the box, but we were all up to the challenge.

The next speaker was Dougal C., who encouraged us to put ourselves in a successful position and “impact the world,” because we knew what it felt like to be counted out and tossed aside by society. A powerful phrase was shared with us that day: “People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.” This struck deeply within us because many of us had been hardwired the other way. Having people come into prison just to share knowledge that had taken them years to learn—there was no better way for them to show that they cared. We ended the day with a test and prayed for the continued growth of not only ourselves but also this program and those who support it. Thank you, PEP, for providing a true second chance.

Brandon B.- (AKA “Peanut Butter”)

Friday                                                                                                          October 24, 202

At the start of the day, our grades were posted on the wall, and we were given the chance to check our scores. We then moved into our next session of Toastmasters, the course that focuses on public speaking and speech presentation. Many of us had shown great improvement since the first day of the program and could now speak almost fluently without showing any nerves. We learned to prepare our speeches, so the information flowed naturally. We also learned to express ourselves through body language, adding emphasis when needed. Practice truly made perfect.

PEP gives us the drive to set goals for ourselves and helps us overcome the fear of failure. Failures are simply steppingstones to progress, and we take them in stride. We are not alone on this journey, supported not only by the PEP staff but also by the Servant-Leaders who had graduated from the program. All the help and expertise we need to succeed is always just a simple request away. It is a privilege to have such a strong network of people behind us who believe in us and want to see us prevail. We thank all our peers, staff, and volunteers for investing in our future.

Daviounghn B.- (AKA “T.B.D.”)

Expressions                                                                                                                          

“Once you learn to love and accept yourself for who you are there is nothing that anyone can say to hurt you.”

-Rickanthony Mendez

Many of us could agree that we can be our own worst enemy. The things we told ourselves created the tolerance we had for what others told us and what we chose to believe. A body divided from its mind had already defeated itself; where the mind went, the body would ultimately follow. Our minds were the most important things we needed to strengthen. This is where we generate self-discipline, self-worth, self-respect, drive, and the will to keep going when times get rough. When we learned to see the beauty in who we were, it allowed the world to see it as well. That was the power of self-love.

Rickanthony M.- (AKA “Patrick Star”)

Monday                                                                                                       October 13, 2025

     Every day here at the PEP program we start and end each day with a prayer to the Lord. We were fortunate enough to celebrate one of our brother’s birthday and encourage him on his path to a better life. Afterwards, we were introduced to another stage of the business plans we are creating called “product/service offering”. A bullet point presentation was provided for us to grasp the information more accurately and to make the instructions on how to complete the assignment clear. The servant-leaders did a wonderful job of getting the information across and answering any questions that were not addressed. As always, we were not left alone to figure it out.

     Today was also the day we finally received our “Heart-check”, an extensive assignment (that usually takes about a week to complete) giving us the opportunity to prove how committed we are to the program and ourselves. A few brothers were also given a chance to practice their business pitches, showing that they have made the initiative to get ahead of the game and setting an example for us all to follow. There will be some tough competition, so this has given us a whole new drive to move forward and give it our all. It was great to show our dedication, and we plan to execute all our duties with excellence. We thank PEP for instilling a self-driving force into us and believing in us all.

Sam A.- (AKA “Genie”)

Tuesday                                                                                                      October 14, 2025

     We started the day with a prayer and then sang happy birthday to one of our brothers/classmates. The Servant-Leaders joined in the fun and gave the birthday man a chance to speak a few words. He encouraged us to continue working on our “Heart-Check,” the assignment we received Monday that involved a lot of writing and attention to punctuation. Afterward, we watched a video about how the family liaison reaches out to our families and helps us reconnect with them. For those who have children, we were allowed to take a silly picture to send home for their birthdays. PEP goes the extra mile to help us in every aspect of our lives, a blessing that many of us had long desired.

Getting us out of our comfort zones and out of our shells was one of the best things PEP did for us. Change was always needed, even though it could be a little scary at times, but overcoming those fears helped us hurdle the obstacles ahead. We were then given a new seating arrangement to encourage us to interact with more of our brothers, teaching us how to adapt to different personalities, as we will have to do in the world of entrepreneurs. It was encouraging to also create study groups to further our interactions and help us better understand the material through many points of view. We closed with a prayer of thanks and a request for success in our futures. Thank you everyone!

Angel A.- (AKA “Strawberry Shortcake”)

Wednesday                                                                                                October 15, 2025

       Today, the devotional team came to share a few words of encouragement along with scriptures to reinforce the message being given. It was exactly what we needed and gave us the extra fuel to keep pushing forward with vigor and dedication. The Servant-Leaders then went over the first two chapters of our Living in the Village workbook, a book describing the financial aspects we will encounter in life. We were given time to ask for clarification on certain topics, which the Servant-Leaders were well prepared to answer. They did a wonderful job making the material easy to understand, using everyday examples from our lives to paint a clearer picture. The information inside was invaluable and will truly help us prepare for success.

We then watched a video on the first book we read, Who Moved My Cheese, which explained how fast the world changes and the need for us to adapt to those changes. It showed that change can sometimes be fearful but also that the end of something often means a new beginning for something else. Toward the end, we continued giving out sweet names—nicknames that help brush off the tough exteriors we have all created—to the brothers who had not yet received one. It was a great way to close the day with laughter and joy.

Ernesto B.- (AKA “Twix”)

Thursday                                                                                                    October 16, 2025

     Today started with a prayer, followed by a presentation from the media team, who continued taking photos for our children’s birthdays. At the same time, we celebrated a few of our brothers who had made parole and were on their way back into society. They shared words of encouragement with the rest of the class, reminding us not to give up and to keep waiting for God’s blessing. In turn, the class encouraged them to stay committed to the promise we made when joining the PEP family and wished them success in life.

In the second half, we had the opportunity to go before the class and present our first pitches to receive feedback from the pitch coaches. This Halloween will be our first pitch event, where we will present our business ideas to volunteer executives (people who come to the unit and work with our class and help them with their business ideas) who will give us further feedback. We then took a test on the Living in the Village workbook, doing our best to keep our grade point averages up. The lessons taught spoke to us on a deeper level, showing us the importance of being active members of our communities and how many of us would not be where we are if we had done so before. PEP opened our eyes to new things every day. We cannot wait to see what was in store next.

Baylon B.- (AKA “Cheese Cake”)

Friday                                                                                                          October 17, 2025

    We started the day by giving thanks to God for this blessed opportunity and the wonderful brotherhood He has forged for us. We then moved into our next session of Toastmasters, a course on public speaking and speech preparation. Each brother took a turn standing in front of the class to give a brief speech about his life, giving us new insight into who he truly is and what he aspires to be. Each story brought us closer together and gave us a better understanding of what it means to be a brotherhood. We learned that even though we are all different people with different backgrounds, many of our struggles are the same, and together we will overcome them.

This course is also a good way to overcome other obstacles, such as the fear of public speaking and learning to use body language to captivate an audience. To some, this may come naturally, but for the rest, this course was specifically tailored to help us improve in every area related to public speaking. The changes in the way we speak have already begun to show, and many of us have already shed our nervousness, speaking in front of a crowd as if we had been doing it our entire lives. We thank everyone who supports this program and encourage others to join the journey.

Jalen B.- (AKA “Moon Pie”)

 Expressions                                                                                                                          

“Judging a person does not define who they are; it defines who you are.”

-Wayne Dyer

When we look in the mirror, who do we see? This is a serious question we should all be asking ourselves. We tend to look at others and always have something in mind, whether good or bad. Sometimes we only see the flaws in others, and other times we see only the good. Either extreme can lead to jealousy or even dislike, which can grow into bitterness within us because we are not truly happy with who we are inside. We sometimes judge unfairly, even when the other person does not deserve it.

PEP helps break down this damaging mentality and teaches us to accept people for who they are. We should look for the good in everyone we encounter, regardless of how they make us feel about ourselves. We must look within before judging another and try to see them through the same lens the Lord would.

Anthony K.- (AKA “Skittles”)

Monday                                                                                                       October 6, 2025

     Wow is the word that came to mind when we thought about our first PEP (Prison Entrepreneurship Program) experience. It was the first day of class, and PEP did not disappoint, giving us more than we could have ever imagined.

To start the day, some of the Servant-Leaders (men who have graduated from and earlier PEP class) went over the curriculum that we would be learning throughout the program. We were introduced to the Ten Driving Values that PEP stands on, the BetterMan course (a course designed to remind us how to be excellent men) and the different topics covered in our entrepreneurship workbook. We also learned how the Toastmasters setting would work, a course designed to help us improve our public speaking and speech presentation, and what we could expect to learn from ourselves and our brothers.

We could feel that the Servant-Leaders leading our class did a great job conveying what kind of opportunity and blessing this is and how God works in our lives to lead us to become leaders. The floor was open for all of us to ask questions that may not have been addressed, which made us feel that time was being taken to truly prepare us for the journey ahead. Our pictures were taken for the “Coat of Arms” we would create later that week, something similar to a vision board showing where we wanted to see ourselves in the future.

We then took turns getting “turned up,” dancing down the aisle as our brothers clapped along, encouraging us to break out of our shells and brush off the prison mentality. It was an experience we were not used to and helped us shake off any fears. We could not wait to see what tomorrow would bring.

Anthony A.- (AKA “Muffin”)

Tuesday                                                                                                      October 7, 2025

    We started the day by praying in, giving thanks to the Lord for the opportunity given to each of us. Our first test was on the book we read called Who Moved My Cheese? This taught us that adapting to changing times is a necessary part of life. We were then given our next assignment, called the “Four Box,” where we worked on a solution that our businesses would provide for the communities we will be released to. This was broken into four sections: opportunity, solution, customer, and differentiator. These four concepts became the foundation for the first pitch we will present to the volunteer executives (these are people who have business knowledge that come and work with our classes) in the Big Idea Pitch Event on the 31st.

Our next assignment was to propose possible business names for the companies we plan to open upon release. This gave us the opportunity to see how people would respond to the names and whether they gave an idea of what we do. We then continued the day by giving each other our very own “sweet names,” a tradition in PEP where we give our brothers nicknames to help brush off the prison mentality. It was a lot more fun than we expected. There was so much laughter that for a moment we all forgot where we were. Not everyone received a sweet name, but we were reassured there will be another day to continue the fun.

John A.- (AKA “Pixie Stick”)

Wednesday                                                                                                October 8, 2025

The first thing we did upon entering class was pray in. The word of the day was “faith,” meaning unflagging trust or belief without firm or concrete proof. This gave us something to think about, not only in our religious beliefs but in the faith we have in ourselves as well. The daily phrase we were given was “The pain of today is the victory of tomorrow.” This gave our devotional team the theme of the sermon and helped them explain how we can apply it to our daily lives. They performed original songs and shared life experiences that were related to the sermon topic. Later, Martin H., also known as Oompah Loompa, delivered the PEP acceptance letters that the Manager of Prison Initiatives, Gerald D., personally signed.

In the second half, Devante F., the Fall 2025 Business Plan Competition winner, gave excellent advice and wisdom to encourage us all to give our best in our own pitches. “A bad plan is one that’s not planned.” Devante is a knowledgeable and positive person. Lastly, we learned how to write a “Praise Report,” a way to acknowledge one of our brothers for showing growth and excellence in the work they do. Then two of our brothers left us with this reminder: be ready—if a brother asks you to go a mile, then go two. One of our brothers then prayed us out to conclude a wonderful day in the PEP program

 Kevin A.- (AKA “T.B.D.”)

Thursday                                                                                                    October 9, 2025

     For some of us, the cycle of coming in and out of prison had left us lost. It had put us in a shell that we were forced to create, where we refused to let people in. PEP slowly but surely broke down those walls, whether through the nicknames we received or the dancing we did to loosen up. PEP has an atmosphere that teaches us it was okay to smile again, to laugh and have fun. One of our leaders, Martin H., shared his story with us and showed that even through adversity we could overcome and succeed in all we set our minds to.

Leading by example was exactly what we needed, and it was exactly what this program provided on a daily basis. We were taught that our past paths were not the paths that God intended for us, and it was through His Work that our lives would prosper. We were also taught the importance of sharing those blessings with our community and giving back to those who may need a helping hand. As promised, we continued giving our brothers “sweet names,” nicknames that helped brush off the tough prison mentality. It was a blessed day, and we ended it with a prayer for our families back home and for the PEP family we had gained.

Leland A.- (AKA “Penny Candy”)

Friday                                                                                                          October 10, 2025

    We began the day by giving thanks and Glory to God for the doors He opened for us, giving us new hope and immeasurable opportunities for the future. It was our first day of Toastmasters, where we gave a speech called the “Ice Breaker.” We spoke about ourselves and what brought us to PEP. There were so many stories and backgrounds that made us realize we were not so different from each other. On top of it all, it gave us the chance to work on our public speaking, an opportunity many of us had never had. It was a great way to prepare us for the pitches we would eventually give in front of the executives who would be present at our first pitch event this Halloween.

It was an awakening kind of day that showed us skills within ourselves we did not know we possessed. We now had a taste of the potential inside us and what it felt like to execute in front of a captivated audience. We learned how to structure a speech and work around the nervousness of being under the spotlight. We thanked PEP for instilling a sense of confidence in us and pushing us closer to our goals. We knew that we were not alone on this journey, which for us meant that the opportunities that would present themselves to us would be limitless.

Shaun A.- (AKA “Watermelon”)

  Expressions                                                                                                                          

“The avoidance of conflict only reinforces irrational fears.”

-Unknown

     This is the most memorable quote I have heard, coming out of a textbook. The course was ‘Healthy Argumentation’ and the quote came from a chapter titled Healthy Conflict. When a person refuses to speak up because he or she is afraid of getting shot down, it creates a habit of silencing their own voice, thus reinforcing irrational fears within themselves. Thoughts such as “if I speak up people will think I’m stupid” or “if I say something, I’ll be humiliated” will only make a person believe their thoughts. In reality, most people will respect that you decided to speak up. Conflict is a normal part of life and healthy conflicts end up turning out to be what resolves most issues peacefully. Do not be afraid to speak your mind. Your voice needs to be heard.

Justin M.- (AKA “Cool Whip”) PEP Graduate