Kimberly Nicole Hartfield was a thoughtful and caring individual who always stood up for herself and others.
Kimberly, a sociology doctoral student from Irving, was an ambitious student with a larger-than-life personality. Her mom, Kelly Hartfield, said Kimberly was “a force of nature.”
“She was pretty special. She had a strong personality, as well as many distinctive qualities. She was full of life, her energy was contagious,” Kelly said. “Kimberly was strong, she was determined and not easily intimidated. She had integrity, and she was very confident in herself and who she was. She was happy to be in her skin.”
Kelly said Kimberly focused on doing the right thing and always saw the glass as half full.
“She spent time on worthy causes and things that were important to her. She was optimistic and positive,” Kelly said. “She was ambitious. She set goals, and she had dreams and she achieved them.”
Taylor Mireles, one of Kimberly’s friends she met while pursuing her master’s degree at Texas State, said Kimberly was very focused on the research she did in sociology.
“She was really passionate about her research and looking at minitories’ experiences with colleges and how to navigate that, especially first-generation students,” Mireles said.
Kimberly’s research, titled “Adverse childhood experiences contribute to race/ethnic differences in post-secondary academic performance among college students,” was published just after she passed, Kelly said.
In addition to her passion for her research, Hannah Edwards, another good friend of Kimberly’s from Texas State, said Kimberly loved music, fashion and plants, which Edwards said presented a special aesthetic about her.
“She was very dedicated to giving herself a beautiful life,” Edwards said. “Everything around her was beautiful, the way she dressed … [and] she loved giving her friends beautiful things.”
Kimberly was incredibly thoughtful to others and would often go out of her way to remember all the little details about the people in her life.
“I mentioned over the summer of 2020 there was this blue nail polish I liked, and for Christmas that year she [remembered the exact polish and] got it for me. She was always so attentive to detail,” Edwards said. “She was just very thoughtful. If she ever thought that she had upset you she would address it and was always quick to apologize.”
Mireles and Edwards both said Kimberly was the type of person who made you want to better yourself just by knowing and respecting her.
“Kimberly, in a good way, she had expectations of her friends and she would hold you accountable. I feel like I had to rise to her level,” Edwards said. “Whoever got to know Kimberly, whoever she let be her friend, it was an honor.”