NEGAUNEE, Mich. (WZMQ) – A motivational speaker built on one word, is aiming to bring inspiration into the classroom. Keeping a mind at peace can be a difficult task, especially when facing many of life’s challenges, but one man has made a career out of the word “Peace”.
Kevin Szawala (pictured below), known by many as “Mr. Peace”, is a National Youth Motivating speaker who visits groups of people to tell his message built on kindness, love, and peace. He began his career in sales but quickly knew he was meant for something different.
“When I was still a student at the University of Michigan Ann Arbor I started an event called Peace Day that was promoting the ethnic and the cultural equality day. The first year that I did it the newspaper picked up the story and everybody my friends at least were calling me Mr. Peaceful and dropped the ‘ful’ and Mr. Peace was born,” commented Kevin “Mr Peace” Szawala.
Now, Mr. Peace as he became known, has been across the country giving talks and performing his positive renditions of hip-hop songs. Today’s visit was to Negaunee High School, his second time to the school.
“That’s what I’m trying to do is ultimately change like a culture or a climate of a school by coming back again and again and again and kind of instilling in them and imparting on their hearts to say you are the ones that can be the change,” continued Szawala.
Some students say that these talks help them feel better about their personal goals, while others say the inspirational aspect of it carries through the rest of the day.
“It’s just showing how one act can go from one person to another it changed the way I look at things,” commented Negaunee High School student Lili Anasaunders.
Mr. Peace has the letter “M” traced along his palm as a reminder of the miracle life is and how each of us is worthy of kindness and peace. “But we have to believe this because so many students that I speak to people in general, sometimes they have never been told this sometimes they’ve forgotten this and they need a reminder and that might be us,” continued Szawala.
“I think like after this assembly everyone is out in the hallway finding their M’s and talking about kindness and how they can spread it,” commented Negaunee High School student Cailee Perry.
Mr. Peace noted that you might have planted the positivity seed, but one act of kindness can snowball into a large movement for positive change.
Click here to see more about “Mr. Peace”.
