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Chase Ward surrendered his life to Jesus at USF. 

“My USF running coach Mark Heider brought me a Bible during an incredibly challenging time in my life. He said, ‘I don’t have all the answers, but everything you need is in this book,’” Ward explains. 

That year, Ward gave his life to Christ and people like former Women’s Basketball Assistant Coach Tom Goehle and former Campus Pastor Dennis Thum poured into and invested in Chase’s spiritual journey.

The journey eventually led Ward to Africa, where he founded a nonprofit organization called Simba Educational Ministries. The organization has transformed thousands of lives, including his. 

“I graduated from USF in 2013 with a biology degree and the desire to serve. I was considering applying for medical school,” he says. “While working at a hospital, I volunteered at Mission Haiti. After I returned, a coworker asked me if I would be interested in building a dining hall for a school in Kenya. I didn’t have the skills or the finances, but I felt God prompting me to go.” 

On his initial trip, Ward was deeply impacted by how many children were not attending school and he felt called to act. He returned home with the mission of securing educational sponsorships for 20 students and raising $90,000 to complete the dining hall. 

A generous family from the Brandon community wrote Ward a check for the entire project, and he reached out to USF Professor Beth O’Toole for advice. She helped him establish Simba Educational Ministries, named for Proverbs 28:1 “the righteous shall be as bold as lions.” 

That first dining hall was just the beginning. The ministry developed a Holistic Care Model focusing on five pillars: Child Sponsorship, Kingdom Building, Widows and Orphans, Health and Wellness and Stewardship. 

Through God and the generosity of its donors, Simba Ministries has helped 500 children graduate and has 350 current sponsored students in school. Over 12,000 people received care through the organization’s medical clinics and approximately 1,200 families have broken the cycle of poverty. 

“Every day at USF, I would walk past the statue of Jesus washing the feet and feel its significance,” he says. “God brought me to USF for a purpose, and that purpose is to share the love of Jesus Christ through service.”