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MEDIA
DISPATCH | JOURNAL
Class 13: Week 7
March 12, 2010 Something is happening inside my heart. The very fact that all of these rich and successful business people come and take an interest in my life is having profound effects on my soul. Class 13 has come a long way. We are fueled by the love of so many people who want to help us. Their compassion is overwhelming and drives us to succeed. Read more ... Class 13: Week 6 March 12, 2010 I feel the love we share as a brotherhood growing daily. And I see it when brothers are quick to help each other and pick each other up. When I see constant encouragement and endless hugs I can’t help but thank God for His blessings through PEP. I mean, we are in prison, yet in such a warm and loving environment. That in itself is a miracle. Read more ... Class 13: Week 5 March 12, 2010 The good news is that we are now more aware of our actions and can work on them. As we learned from the Enneagram class, there are many different personalities. For example: those of us who are outspoken and strong-willed may be intimidating to others and come across as overbearing. We can use this feedback to learn how to treat others. Read more ... Class 13: Week 4 March 03, 2010 Self-awareness may be harder for some than others. This week, we had our first character assessment. And it wasn’t easy. But after a lot of thought, I realized we are accountable to each other, and one brother’s character, good or bad, may not be known unless told. With the character assessment we are bringing those traits to light. So, when we get our feedback, we will be aware of the way we rub others, bad tendencies we have, or maybe just how good we’ve been doing. Read more ... Class 13: Week 3 February 25, 2010 So many times we are faced with adversity in our lives, and it’s how we react in these hard times that separates us from quitters. We have taken action in our lives, making a commitment to change and to be successful, not only by changing our thinking but by also looking inside ourselves, to better understand why we do what we do. Read more ... Class 13: Week 2 February 17, 2010 A record-breaking numbers of executives showed up for Class 13’s Kick Off. There is no way to describe the feeling that we felt. We are used to being judged and having people throw stones at us for our sins. But now, we had people who actually cared about us and want to see us succeed in life. Read more ... Class 13: Week 1 February 17, 2010 After all the tests, interviews, and meeting of the intense criteria, we received acceptance letters as 95 of us were chosen out of more than 2,000 applicants. With more than 1,000 executives, MBA volunteers, graduates and Board of Directors behind us – success and entrepreneurship are not far from our futures. Read more ... Class XII: Final Week December 16, 2009 This is so crazy! It is the week of B.P.C. and graduation, and they just locked the whole unit down. Talk about running into a humongous brick wall. For those of you out there that do not understand what a lockdown is, I will explain: everybody on the whole unit is locked into their cells with absolutely no movement. Read more ... Class XII: Week 9 November 03, 2009 One of the most intimidating parts of business for many of us is accounting and employee documentation. Today a PEP executive and accountant plowed his way through the heavy rains of Houston to teach us the basic employer functions and shared the step-by-step process of hiring employees and keeping up with the massive amount of documentation that goes along with it. Read more ... Class XII: Week 8 November 03, 2009 The man above had a unique puzzle of life designed specifically for him. Some pieces of that preordained puzzle included a trip to prison and an acceptance into PEP. He’s been putting a little pep in his step, and he’s grateful for the second chance. Read more ... Class XII: Week 7 October 20, 2009 In journalism, the word “gatekeeper” refers to journalists, reporters and publishers who consider many news stories and determine which ones are newsworthy. As one of PEP’s gatekeepers, I’d consider it a grave injustice not to mention Monday’s guest speaker and the unimaginable evil she fights around the globe. Since she’s from Australia, we kicked off our time together with a Steve Irwin impersonation show to break the ice. It was totally awesome! Read more ... Class XII: Week 6 September 20, 2009 When we walked into the PEP classroom this morning, we could still feel the residue of love and smell the indescribable scent of compassion left from last weekend’s Venture Capital Panel and Concept Day events. The love shown to us by our guests has left a permanent mark upon our souls. Read more ... Class XII: Week 5 September 20, 2009 We are moving right along with the creation of our business plans. We’ve completed our Personal Statements, Mission Statements and Leadership Statements. In addition to these key elements of our business plans, we also worked on our resume, marketing request sheet and the business revenue model. Read more ... Class XII: Week 4 September 20, 2009 Ms. Rohr showed up unexpectedly today. There is a solemn feeling prior to today’s character assessment. It can be hard to point out others’ negative character traits, especially when we all have them. It is a learning experience for us, though. It teaches us how to surround ourselves with the right kinds of people when we get out. Read more ... Class XII: Week 3 August 31, 2009 Before we leave PEP, each class member will stand before the rest of the class and give his life story. It is strange to share your most personal stories with the rest of the class; I don’t even know these guys yet, but I suppose I cannot come up with a better way to become familiar with them other than by sharing my life story. Read more ... Class XII: Week 2 August 20, 2009 It is crazy how your outlook can change so quickly. A couple of weeks ago, I thought that when I left prison, I was leaving prison, meaning that I did not think that I would keep in touch with anybody I met here. Read more ... Class XII: Week 1 August 16, 2009 I cannot believe I am writing you from prison right now. It is hard to believe, because this place seems so far from prison. From the leather couches, to the colorful and ridiculous looking hats, to the crazy business woman (Ms. Rohr) that teaches us finance and pinches our cheeks if we don’t smile. Just wait, there’s more, like booming stereo systems, funny nicknames, and a computer lab. Read more ... Class XI: Final Week in Review July 26, 2009 We have learned that practice makes perfect. Well, we will be perfect by the end of this week, because we are in an endless trade-off between practicing the graduation walk and presenting our pitches for the Business Plan Competition. We are walking, talking, gown-wearing, aspiring entrepreneurs and happy to be so. I have never seen such a positive attitude on such a large group of prisoners in my whole life. Read more ... Class XI: Week 15 June 26, 2009 Today we spent time reviewing our pitches in front of the peer educators. I think this experience could quite possibly be more nerve racking than it will be to pitch in front of a panel of judges. Read more ... Class XI: Week 14 June 26, 2009 A Class 10 graduate came in and presented his business pitch, and, well—WOW! I do not know if I feel more confident now or more overwhelmed. I wish I had a bunch of capital sitting around; I think I would go ahead and try to gain some equity in his company. Read more ... Class XI: Week 13 June 26, 2009 We started the first part of the character assessment today. Ms. Rohr came in and the peer educators solemnly passed out the character evaluation forms. Each of us will write down the people we think are the top ten classmates and the bottom ten classmates. We will include observable character traits such as: belligerent, argumentative, glorifies past; or leader, charismatic, positive. We also have to mark down the three people who we feel are the most likely to recidivate—that can be such a painful judgment to make. Read more ... Class XI: Week 11 June 03, 2009 We had a guest speaker come today and he gave an astounding lecture on leadership. I noticed that from the moment he walked in the room he immediately took control with his boisterous voice. I am sure that when it comes to being a leader, a voice like that comes in handy. However, being big or having a big voice isn’t what is most important in a strong leader. It’s more about having the right philosophy, which he served up to us on a silver platter. Read more ... Class XI: Week 10 May 20, 2009 I really didn’t understand the logic behind calling people who are only mere classmates “brothers.” Now my eyes have opened and so has my heart. These guys are here for me; I can lean on them, and I trust them. I know that they will be strong pillars for me when I get out. Read more ... Class XI: Week 9 May 20, 2009 Keith, our spiritual advisor, came today. What an amazing man. Never in my life have I ever met a man who was more dedicated to his walk with God. Have you ever been to a place in your life, such as the beach or some beautiful church, and that place made you totally confident in the existence of God? Keith is like that, except he brings God with him everywhere he goes. Read more ... Class XI: Week 8 May 20, 2009 We recently had a project that consisted of progress reports to evaluate how we are doing with our character defects. This morning when I went into the dayroom everybody was chatting about the progress that they have made. I heard one graduate say that he wished he had the capacity to reach out to more of us. My response to him was that every person that he shares something positive with shares it with two people, and those people with two people, and so on and so forth until the whole class is positively affected. Read more ... Class XI: Week 7 May 20, 2009 Today started in the usual fashion; we prayed in at 11am, followed by “hug someone time.” It has become such an important part of class because this allows us to open up to one another. Letting our guard down is not always easy for people like us. Prison is filled with so much division and hatred that you tend to be affected by it even if you are not part of the problem. Of course, “if you’re not part of the solution, you’re a part of the problem.” Well, by what we are doing in here every day, we are finally part of the solution. Read more ... Class XI: Week 6 May 20, 2009 We started class before the rooster crowed this morning at 7:30am, and it was as cold as Alaska in the PEP room. Maybe that it is a good thing, because we needed to pay extra close attention today. Read more ... Class XI: Week 5 April 22, 2009 The beginning of week five in PEP for the Lollipop Eleven was a welcome change and slight departure from the tension we all experienced last week. We welcomed a series of speakers, and they shared information to help us transition from the institutional life to the outside world. Read more ... Class XI: Week 4 April 22, 2009 Learning to trust means learning to share. All too often we are forced to share in experiences that we would rather not. Fortunately these experiences usually turn out to be the catalyst for change. A wise man once said “in all labor there is profit.” But one man’s work is another man’s play. How then, one may ask, can we safely hold each other accountable? Read more ... Class XI: Week 3 April 06, 2009 We can all find similarities in our backgrounds, no matter where we came from or how we were raised. Something went wrong somewhere—the train skipped the tracks. It’s a little painful to watch a man express the mistakes of his past. The shame is apparent, but it’s a healthy shame. We should be ashamed of our actions, but we should never be ashamed of what we have overcome. I begin to see the strength in the men around me. It’s surreal to realize that we have all gone from broken pieces of a soul to something so solid. Read more ... Class XI: Week 2 March 29, 2009 We compiled a list of negative traits. It’s very important that we learn to be self aware; obviously we did something to get here and we need to know how to change that. Character is the very basis of this program. While discussing it, I reflected upon my own character: what is it that I’m not seeing? Sooner or later we will all be made aware of where we’re great and where we can improve. Read more ... Class XI: Week 1 March 25, 2009 Well, here we are: The first official day of PEP’s Class XI, otherwise known as the “Lollypop Eleven.” First, our peer educator Benji got us started on business plans. Benji is a class VIII graduate and has been a peer educator for the last year. One of the main parts of PEP is putting together a complete business plan, and then presenting the plan to a panel of executives at our Business Plan Competition. He’s here to help us do that. Read more ... Class X: Week 12 December 22, 2008 Our advisors work so hard for so little thanks. Imagine spending hours editing business plan sections and getting market research for somebody else (in prison!) while worrying about how you’re going to pass your next exam. These students sacrifice so much for us, and we love them for it. Read more ... Class X: Week 11 December 22, 2008 We spent several hours with Keith today. Keith is Ms. Rohr’s spiritual advisor, a brilliant man who never ceases to enlighten us. Today we are working on manuscript studies, taking passages from the Bible and breaking them down to arrive at their true meaning. I’ve read some of these verses a hundred times, yet never understood what they really meant. A person like Keith is priceless. Read more ... Class X: Week 10 December 22, 2008 The character assessment being scheduled today took me off guard. Moods are up, people are giggling and carrying on, then all of a sudden the negative character assessment is announced. It’s a program that works, and this evaluation is one of the main contributing factors to that success. Still, it’s a horrible feeling being that raw, that real. We have to write down who we think is at the bottom of our class, as far as character goes. It’s gut wrenching. Tomorrow is going to be rough. No dancing. No jingles. No silly hats. Read more ... Class X: Week 9 December 22, 2008 As we speak, executives are on their way here to help us hone our selling skills. It’ll be done in a speed dating format. We’ll give a pitch for a few minutes, get feedback, and then move on to the next hard sell. We’ve got our work cut out for us. Read more ... Class X: Week 8 December 22, 2008 We spent all day on the computers, making corrections to parts of our business plans. Our MBA advisors are giving us awesome feedback. I know all of our presentations are going to be really great! I’m really thankful to be receiving all of this help from an MBA student. It will be interesting to meet them next week at our MBA workshop. Read more ... Class X: Week 7 November 17, 2008 An emotional day from the moment the sun rose. First and foremost, our brother Reggie, a Class IX graduate, left this morning. It’s a mixed emotion when someone you enjoy leaves the very prison that you will remain in. You are happy for him, that he will get to go off into the world to his family. But having a charismatic, nice, and respectful person to be around only makes our time that much easier. While it’s sad to see them go, it’s always amazing to see them come back to visit us in a suit and tie. Read more ... Class X: Week 6 November 17, 2008 I think PEP has the most interesting beginning of any class I have ever attended. Everyday is different and no one knows what to expect. Let me give you an idea of how class starts almost daily. Read more ... Class X: Week 5 November 17, 2008 We started the week fresh with a pop quiz. I’m fairly confident that this was the 50th test we’ve taken. Okay, maybe only the 15th. We also got to review a chapter test on the economics of one unit. Last week we learned how to define and calculate our revenue models and how they apply to an income statement. So, naturally, we had a test on it. Read more ... Class X: Week 4 November 17, 2008 It’s been quite the weekend. Hurricane Ike knocked the power out at 1:30 a.m. Saturday morning (9/13). Even amongst some of the worst conditions and high levels of anxiety, the positive and uplifting attitude of my PEP brothers radiates like sunlight off each of us. Read more ... Class X: Week 3 November 16, 2008 Today we got our grades back from our first chapter test out of the Entrepreneurship book. We all did pretty well. We’re learning a lot about business already. Read more ... Class X: Week 2 November 16, 2008 Week two has begun, and if you think last week was strange, then this week has been beyond bizarre. Friday night the Major on the unit told Ms. Rohr that evacuees from a unit near Beaumont would be housed here. This was due to the predicted path of Hurricane Gustav. Because we in PEP are determined to be the best behaved men on this unit, we were asked to all be housed together ... in the PEP classroom. Our cells were to be used to house inmates from another unit for a few days. On Saturday morning, we all packed our things and moved into our temporary new home. Read more ... Class X: Week 1 November 16, 2008 This place is weird. In all my prison experience, never before have I walked through a “tunnel of love.” Imagine opening up a door and seeing 60 other people standing face to face, side by side, arms extending high in the air, hands touching, to form a human tunnel. Then imagine them welcoming you through with hugs at the end. In prison. Read more ... |
