{"id":6808,"date":"2019-05-08T12:33:58","date_gmt":"2019-05-08T17:33:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/family.pep.org\/cleveland\/?p=6808"},"modified":"2019-05-08T12:33:58","modified_gmt":"2019-05-08T17:33:58","slug":"week-18-6","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/family.pep.org\/pamlychner\/2019\/05\/08\/week-18-6\/","title":{"rendered":"Week 18"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\t\t\t\t\n

Monday, April 29, 2019<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today, we attended the much-anticipated\nlast day of Toastmasters International. This class has been giving us the\nability and confidence to speak in public. Standing in front of a large group\nof people, where all eyes are focused on you, has been a tough obstacle for\nmany of us to overcome.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It really has been awesome to\nwatch many of our brothers transition from being shy and whispering to speaking\nwith clarity and confidence. In the beginning, many of us would freeze up after\nspeaking for only two minutes. Now, more often than not, we run out of time\nbefore we run out of material.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Throughout the duration of\nthis course, we have been required to prepare and recite 10 speeches. For our\nfinal project, we were told to prepare a speech that was positive and\nuplifting. Some of our PEP brothers spoke about God, while others spoke about what\nthey aspired to accomplish once they are released. Each heartfelt speech was\nmet with encouragement and a Toastmaster\u2019s signature applause.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Back on the Pods (dorms), we continued\nto prepare for our upcoming Pitch Day event. We are really leaning on our\nfellow graduate brothers to give us insight as to what to expect from the\nexecutives. They have been extremely helpful with their advice and patience.\nTheir help, coupled with our determination, will make for a successful Business\nPlan Competition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Justin\nW. (a.k.a. \u201cMr. Kool-Aid\u201d)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tuesday, April 30, 2019<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

There was no class for Spring \u201919 today. Still, each one of\nus was up early, studying for tests in our Entrepreneurship class and the Crime and Punishment<\/em> book. This stage of\nour journey is coming to an end, but we are hoping to finish strong.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In three days, we will have our Pitch Day event. We have\nbeen working very hard on our pitches and our business plans. We are hoping\nthat with the help of our graduate brothers, and with feedback from the\nexecutives, we can give a professional presentation. We are not just doing this\nfor ourselves; we are also doing it for our families. In spirit, they have been\nwith us throughout this journey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

PEP is giving us the tools necessary to succeed in our\npersonal lives and in business. Each part of the program has been like a\nroadmap showing us the way. However, these are only tools. We have to use them\nproperly, or we will never achieve our goals.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Victor\nV. (a.k.a. \u201cCheddar Bob\u201d)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wednesday, May 1, 2019<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today was a blessed day for each of us in the Prison\nEntrepreneurship Program. We were called out to class very early this morning.\nIn class, we were issued our etiquette book, and we will soon have a lecture by\nthe author herself, Colleen Rickenbacher. Also, this morning we were tested on\nparts one and two of Crime and Punishment<\/em>\nby Fyodor Dostoevsky. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The brothers who did not have computer lab today went back\nto the dorms and practiced their business plan pitches. We all want to make\nsure that we are ready for the Pitch Day event this Friday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After lunch, we had our Entrepreneurship class with the\ninfamous Brian T. (a.k.a. Cruella de Vil) and were tested on Chapter 9. We are\nall anticipating graduation on May 31st<\/sup>. The Conquerors of Spring\n\u201919 must stay focused. Our reward is only a month away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Andy\nC. (a.k.a. \u201cCheech\u201d)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thursday, May 2, 2019<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Each of us here on the Cleveland Unit is really blessed.\nMany of us started the day in the computer lab. We are finishing the required\nlessons and making changes to the financials in our business plans. The rest of\nthe brothers were busy practicing their BPC pitches and anticipating tomorrow\u2019s\nbig event.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We, the class of Spring \u201919, have put in a lot of hard work\nto get to this point in the program. Now it is our turn to step up as servant\nleaders and help our brothers in the next Fall \u201919 class. Good luck, brothers \u2013\nthe PEP journey is amazing! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jose\nM. (a.k.a. \u201cJalapeno on a Stick\u201d)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Friday, May 3, 2019<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

At about 10 a.m., we were called down to the PEP classroom.\nToday was an extremely important day for us. Today was our Pitch Day event, and\nmany of us were a little nervous. We had all prepared for this day, but being\nnervous was inevitable. To rid ourselves of the anxiety, we danced, laughed and\nmingled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After lunch, we went back to the PEP room and gathered\ntogether to greet the incoming executives. We absolutely love these events! To\nexperience how much the executives truly care about us is rejuvenating. After\nwe mingled with the executives for a few minutes, we each went to our\ndesignated areas and awaited our turn to give our pitch. Once we completed our\npitches, we all got some invaluable feedback for our next and final event, the\nBusiness Plan Competition, which will require us to present a 7 to 12 minute\npitch. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the end of the event, there was a surprise in store for\nthe first-time executives: if it was an executive\u2019s first time attending an\nevent, they had to go to the back of the room and dance down the aisle. The\nexpression on their faces was priceless! It produced great laughter from all of\nthe brothers in Spring \u201919.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We are all so very thankful to have received an invitation\nto participate in this program. It means so much for us to be a part of this\nbrotherhood. May God continue to bless this program, the participants and all\nof the executives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Clayton A. (a.k.a. \u201cMr. Macky\u201d)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Expressions<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

“But you, be strong and do not lose courage, for there is\nreward for your work”.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

~2 Chronicles 15:7<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When many of us think of the\nword \u201creward,\u201d we tend to think of it as an award for doing something\nnoteworthy or a prize for some victorious deed. According to The\nMerriam-Webster Dictionary, the definition for \u201creward\u201d is as follows: \u201cSomething\ngiven in return for good or evil done or received or for some service or\nattainment.\u201d In essence, it is payment for services rendered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thirteen-and-a-half years\nago, my many misdeeds earned me a 15 year prison sentence. For years, I placed\nthe blame on imagined circumstances and everyone but myself. Befitting a man of\nweak character, I carried one heck of a \u201cblamethrower\u201d! For this, too, I would\nreceive my due wages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I have been on a long\njourney of self-discovery, and I\u2019ve learned a few things along the way. Lies\nand secrets are practices of the weak and, when practiced, weaken those who\nwere once strong. However, the ones who seek the light, by walking in truth,\nare strengthened because they do not walk alone. The Great Rewarder is never\nslack in payment.                                                        <\/p>\n\n\n\n

James R. (a.k.a.\n\u201cBiscuits and Jelly\u201d)<\/strong><\/p>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Monday, April 29, 2019 Today, we attended the much-anticipated last day of Toastmasters International. This class has been giving us the ability and confidence to speak in public. Standing in front of a large group of people, where all eyes are focused on you, has been a tough obstacle for many of us to overcome. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"off","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6808","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-clsp19"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/family.pep.org\/pamlychner\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6808","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/family.pep.org\/pamlychner\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/family.pep.org\/pamlychner\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/family.pep.org\/pamlychner\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/family.pep.org\/pamlychner\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6808"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/family.pep.org\/pamlychner\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6808\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/family.pep.org\/pamlychner\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6808"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/family.pep.org\/pamlychner\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6808"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/family.pep.org\/pamlychner\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6808"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}