This April, we are sharing stories from Safe Driving Weeks that carry a special kind of meaning. Across the country, some chapters host these weeks in honor of a specific young person whose life continues to shape the people around them. Each story is different, because each life was different. What they share is the way remembrance can become something active, generous, and lasting.

At the University of Kansas, that remembrance is centered on Levi Ward.

Levi was a student at KU, a brother of the Kansas Alpha chapter of Phi Kappa Psi, and the captain of the Men’s KU Water Ski Team. He was studying meteorology and chasing a future that matched his energy and curiosity. He also worked for KAKE News as a First Alert Storm Tracker and Storm Chaser. Friends described him as “electric,” and the word fits. Levi brought a kind of life force that people felt right away.

He lived fully and with excitement. In the weeks before his passing, he experienced two moments that meant a great deal to him: watching the KU Men’s Basketball team win a national championship and successfully chasing an EF2 tornado. For a young man who loved weather, adventure, and school spirit, those were the kinds of moments that stayed with him. Levi was only twenty years old.

Today, Kansas Alpha honors Levi through Safe Driving Week, inviting students to stop, reflect, and make safer choices behind the wheel. Since dedicating the week to his memory in 2022, the chapter has created a meaningful way to remember one of their own while encouraging others to think differently about their responsibility on the road.

Levi’s mother, Jill, has visited the chapter to share his story and speak about why this work matters. Her presence gives students a chance to connect the message to a real person, a real family, and a life that still matters deeply to so many.

With donor support, weeks like this continue to do more than raise awareness. They help students connect safe driving with love, memory, and responsibility. Levi’s story still reaches people. It still asks something of them. And through Kansas Alpha’s continued commitment, his life continues to move others toward wiser choices and greater care for one another.