A motivational speaker will guide the Grade 5 kids at Ecole Viscount Alexander on Friday in a quest to find the personal passion that will lead them to happiness and fulfillment — a 10-year-old motivational speaker.Samantha Wilson is one of four children in Canada and the U.S. to be certified to administer a Passion Test, her mother Susan Kuz says.

It’s all based on the book The Passion Test, co-authored by Janet Bray Attwood, who will also be at the Fort Garry elementary school on Friday.

“We’re piloting this in her school,” said Kuz, who is certified to administer the Passion Test and to train other presenters.

The session will take up the morning of classes for the Grade 5 kids.

Her daughter, Samantha, will talk for 45 minutes, Kuz said.

“They’ll write their 100th birthday speech: what do I want people to say about me on my 100th birthday?”

Then, the kids will identify their greatest passion, such as singing, and draw a picture of it.

“Whenever you’re faced with a choice, always follow your passion,” Kuz said. “What is it that fires you up, what do you love?

“Check your heart.”

Kuz said that Attwood’s book and program tell adults to identify the five things about which they are most passionate, and to always use those passions to guide their choices, if they want to be successful.

Kuz said she will meet with the school faculty for half an hour to discuss adult training, and ask teachers if they want to take a six-hour course.

Viscount Alexander principal Julien Allard said he described the session as a wellness activity when he sent home a letter to Samantha’s classmates, asking if parents want their kids to take part.

“This is a new program, a new focus with children,” Allard said. “The school counsellor and myself, we read the first part of the book. We thought it’s a good idea, a motivational project.”

Kuz was vague about costs of the Passion Test program, and who would be expected to pay for various activities. It is to some extent a business, she said, but noted, “There’s more likely to be a charge for certifying teachers” than for conducting school programs.

“I’ll likely be leading a Passion Club at the school next year,” Kuz said. “We’re going to take it across North America. We’ll roll it out into schools, after-school clubs, (youth) detention centres.”

The session on Friday is closed, but there will be a media photo opportunity at 12:30 p.m.

Kuz said that although her personal website is passionpowerpurpose.ca, she is not associated with the Power, Passion and Purpose Group, a U.S.-based motivational group that says it will help one million women “to nurture their spiritual, emotional and physical selves by enhancing their personal and professional lives.”

nick.martin@freepress.mb.ca

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition June 22, 2009 B2