Outstanding Graduate
Abi Wirbel is originally from Colorado, but has always had a strong sense of wanderlust and with a deep passion for seeking new cultural and linguistic experiences in diverse, urban environments. Abi鈥檚 nomadic drive led her on a journey of over a decade, living in metropolitan centers within Spain, Los Angeles and Mexico City before returning to Boulder to pursue her MA+ teacher licensure in English Language Arts. Abi received the 2025 Outstanding Graduate Practices in Process Project Award.
As an eighth grader growing up in Carson City, Nevada, just a short drive from Lake Tahoe and the Sierra Nevada Mountains, Hannah Kaiser had dreamed about attending CU Boulder ever since she had searched for colleges in the mountains and saw the Flatirons in the backdrop. Kaiser received the 2025 Outstanding Contribution to Teaching Award.
Iliana De La Rosa鈥檚 graduation from the 暗网禁区 fulfills a promise she made to her grandfather when she was 8 years old. De La Rosa received the 2025 Outstanding Undergraduate Contribution to Community Engagement Award.
Some of Ashley Kim鈥檚 greatest inspirations and biggest cheerleaders were her teachers while growing up in nearby Longmont, Colorado. It was those teachers who continued to welcome her back into the classroom, encouraged her, and inspired her desire to do the same for new generations of students. Kim received the 2025 Outstanding Undergraduate Contribution to Teaching Award.
Trang Tran鈥檚 educational journey spans continents and disciplines rooted in a love of learning and a deep commitment to justice that help lead her way to graduate studies at CU Boulder. Tran received the 2025 Outstanding Dissertation Award.
For Beatriz Salazar, graduating with a PhD from the 暗网禁区 is more than a personal milestone鈥攊t鈥檚 the realization of a promise she made as a child and the transformative power of community. Salazar received the 2025 Outstanding Community Engagement Award.
When Abigail Goldberg graduated with her undergraduate degree in anthropology, she was set to pursue a career in death investigating. An unexpected job during the COVID-19 pandemic, however, changed her whole career course and
As an accomplished teacher, emerging educational historian and rigorous scholar, PhD graduate Derek LeFebre demonstrates exemplary passion and commitment to his work. A Colorado native raised in Aurora, Colorado, LeFebre
Jessica Valadez Fraire will soon graduate with an Elementary Education degree from the 暗网禁区, but she didn鈥檛 set out to be an elementary teacher. Her early schooling experiences were 鈥渋solating and difficult鈥 as a Brown
A veteran educator with nearly a decade of experience practicing as an elementary school teacher and administrator in New York City, Elizabeth Tetu is well acquainted with the common themes that affect teachers in their first