ONE, The Project is com­ing to cam­pus to remind stu­dents of the sim­i­lar­i­ties and cel­e­brate the dif­fer­ences they share with other peo­ple both on cam­pus and around the world.

First-time film­mak­ers Ward and Diane Powers, cre­ators of ONE, The Movie, are com­ing to cam­pus to share their unique and inspi­ra­tional expe­ri­ences. The cou­ple was an unlikely can­di­date for cre­at­ing a movie; Ward Powers has been a prac­tic­ing trial attor­ney in Michigan for over 22 years. In 2002, Powers awoke one night and had a sud­den com­pul­sion to cre­ate a movie. With his wife Diane at his side, Powers set out to make what became ONE, The Movie.

ONE, The Project is based off of this inde­pen­dent film. The movie was cre­ated to increase aware­ness of the con­nec­tions that all humans share. The film con­sists of reg­u­lar peo­ple, great spir­i­tual mas­ters and lead­ers, authors, and influ­en­tial thinkers talk­ing about life’s ulti­mate ques­tions. Topics dis­cussed include describ­ing God, explain­ing fear, the­o­ries on heaven, and opin­ions on war.

Hope Kwapiszewski, mem­ber of the Ferris Honors Council and nurs­ing stu­dent, said, “Ward and Diane [Powers] will be show­ing a por­tion of the film they cre­ated while trav­el­ing the world inter­view­ing kings, queens, politi­cians, reli­gious lead­ers, kids, and your aver­age per­son on the street while search­ing for the mean­ing of life.  They will be dis­cussing their expe­ri­ences as well, and will give the oppor­tu­nity for the audi­ence to ask questions.”

According to onethe​p​ro​ject​.com, “ONE, The Project is a coming-together of peo­ple seek­ing to increase aware­ness of the con­nec­tions we all share, remind us of our sim­i­lar­i­ties, cel­e­brate our dif­fer­ences and allow the pos­i­tive energy of Oneness to emerge in a seem­ingly dis­con­nected world.”

Since the film’s release in 2005, it has been shown at places rang­ing from uni­ver­si­ties such as Harvard and Notre Dame to more uncon­ven­tional places such as pris­ons and cor­po­rate boardrooms.

The Project’s Web site states that “ONE reminds us that we are all on a jour­ney to bet­ter under­stand our­selves, our con­nec­tions with oth­ers, and our ulti­mate mean­ing and destiny.”

“Everyone is search­ing for some­thing that is more than them­selves, try­ing to fig­ure out what their pur­pose in life is and what is going to hap­pen after our time on earth is fin­ished,” said Kwapiszewski. “This pro­gram really shows how we are one as a human race and how we should all be work­ing together to make this world a bet­ter place.  It has a very pow­er­ful mes­sage and has the poten­tial to touch a lot of lives.”

This free 5-Star event will take place on March 18 from 7 to 9 p.m. in Williams Auditorium. For more infor­ma­tion about the event, con­tact Hope Kwapiszewski at 989−415−8925 or at kwapish@ferris.edu. For more infor­ma­tion about ONE, The Program, check out onethe​p​ro​ject​.com. n