The door beeped, clicked, and then it opened. We were instructed to walk within the painted yellow lines down the hallway because the prisoners were not allowed in the painted area. I felt a little uneasy as we walked by and were stared down by prisoners. There was no barrier between us and the prisoners. I thought to myself, “What have I gotten myself into…am I about to get jumped?”
Back tracking to last week, I received an email from our administrators inviting us students to join them in their visit to prison through the Prison Entrepreneurship Program (PEP). PEP selects the top 500 men every year for the program from more than 10,000 candidates, and they put them through a 6-month mini MBA program. At the end of everything, the men will graduate and receive a Baylor Hankamer School of Business Entrepreneurship Certificate. We visited during a day that they call their “Pitch Day” where the prisoners in the program are able to practice pitching their business ideas in hopes of receiving funding (think Shark Tank).
We arrived at a door labeled PEP, and I could hear music blasting from the other side. To my surprise, we walked into a crowd of a prisoners who were all smiling, high-fiving, and cheering for us as we walked in. I had no idea what to think. There was a prisoner DJ’ing, one MC’ing, and another one taking pictures. This was a very lively environment. After some introductions, the group finally settled down and the session opened in prayer.
The room was divided into two sections: one with people in white prison suits and the other side with executives dressed in business suits. Then the MC said we were going to break the ice with a Lip Sync Battle. Yes, a Lip Sync Battle…in prison. They had preselected people already, and I was excited for some good entertainment Then the MC threw a curve ball. He announced that some Baylor students were visiting and that they wanted a volunteer. My classmates and the directors instantly pointed at me, and I was volun-told to go up (thanks Austin and John Hazel). I was paired up with a guy named Mario, and we decided to jam out to MC Hammer’s Can’t Touch This. Mario did the worm and we won. 🙂
After we broke the ice, we shifted in to the “pitch” part of Pitch Day. I sat on a panel of 8 executives, who knew far more about business than I did. Sitting on the other side of the table and listening to the prisoners give their pitch, I felt like Mark Cuban but without the multi billionaire part. The prisoners painted their dreams of real estate businesses, trucking companies, mobile car washes, new restaurants, and even a new shopping cart checkout machine. It was truly inspiring.
Lately, I had felt like all I was doing was studying, and I had been praying for an opportunity where I would feel God use me to impact others. He gave me so much more. I left prison that day feeling like the prisoners had impacted me way more than I impacted them. They pushed each other, encouraged one another, and celebrated each other so well. Before that day, prisoners never crossed my mind. To me, they had committed a crime that went against our society’s ideals and were being justly punished. I honestly had very little compassion for prisoners. Watching CEO’s and other big time executives volunteer to take a day out of their busy lives to invest into strangers and provide them with hope for a better future was incredibly encouraging. There is something so special about unconditional love–the kind of love that doesn’t pick and choose who deserves to be loved.
It’s been about a week and a half since my visit, but as I write this blog post, I am overcome with so much joy. PEP is doing incredible things, and it’s thrilling. PEP gives MBA students the opportunity to become business plan advisors for the semester, and I’m stoked to join this life changing revolution.
