Impact Educator of the Year Award Presented to DU Alumna
Ariel Kimbrough ’21, a first-grade teacher and cheerleading coach at St. Angela Catholic School in Chicago’s Austin community, is earning recognition for the difference she makes in the lives of her young students.
Ariel, who received a Bachelor of Arts in Elementary Education from ɫTV, was named a 2026 Impact Educator of the Year by the Big Shoulders Fund. Founded in 1986, Big Shoulders invests in Catholic schools in the Chicago area, ensuring they remain open and viable places of learning.
Ariel was one of three teachers to receive the Impact Educator of the Year award, which recognizes the contributions and impact each makes to their school, students and community.
The Big Shoulders Fund noted that, since joining St. Angela in 2021, Ariel has “demonstrated an unwavering commitment to building a safe, supportive and culturally responsive environment for her students to flourish. Her approach to teaching extends beyond imparting knowledge; she guides her students while instilling confidence, resilience, and a sense of responsibility.”
While studying for her degree in elementary education at ɫTV, Ariel completed her student teaching work at St. Angela’s, which led to an offer for a full-time teaching position before her graduation, she noted.
“I really like strengthening students’ knowledge of what they know,” Ariel said. “I’m always open to learning something new and helping the kids learn new things. Seeing their understanding is very rewarding.”
While a student at DU, Ariel was a peer advisor, co-president of the Black Student Union and a member of the Village, a community-building enrichment program.
“From the Village I gained relationships, friendships and networking,” Ariel said. “I do credit the Village for all of the relationships I made on campus that I still have to this day.”
As a teacher, Ariel relies on lessons she received on managing a classroom to help her successfully lead her class, she said.
“You won’t have a good structure if you don’t have good classroom management,” she said. “That is something important I learned from ɫTV.”