Martha Sorto has been a facilities staff member at Archer for seven months, tending to cleaning matters around campus and “making sure everything is okay for everyone.” Sorto grew up in El Salvador and came to the United States when she was 14 years old. After completing middle and high school, she became a family’s elderly caregiver for 20 years. This job was a 24-hour, seven-day commitment, so she said Archer has given her new opportunities, including vacations and days off with her children. 

In Sorto’s job interview, Archer asked her what other working positions she aspired to hold at Archer. Sorto said as a mother and a working woman, she has learned to take advantage of new opportunities and hopes to make a bigger impact on her community.

“As a woman, I wish I could do more. I grew up in a poor place, and now, in Archer, I see I have an opportunity to do more. Not only just cleaning, as I’m part of something big now; it’s a family,” Sorto said. “They asked me what aspirations I have; in the beginning, I didn’t know, but now I see it differently. As a woman, I don’t like to be stuck. Even though I’m already 46 years old, I would like to do something else if I have the opportunity.” 

In this new chapter of her life, Sorto emphasized that the all-girls environment is positive and close-knit. She said she hopes Archer students are grateful for their community. 

“I’m very, very, very thankful for the opportunity that they have given me, and it’s really special here. I really feel like it’s a family,” Sorto said. “Because you share more with all of these girls than your own families. Half of your day you are here. You learn to love them. They care about each other. I see if someone is laughing, they laugh, and with someone who’s crying, they cry with them. It’s a good spirit in the Archer community.” 

Kim Ortiz has been on Archer’s security team since 2020. She is currently the lead campus monitor, working in the front security booth to clear visitors and vendors and help with school events. Ortiz said this is her first time working in an all-girls environment or even a school.

Ortiz comes from an “intense, hands-on” background working as a public safety officer at hospitals, which she said was very different from the calm Archer environment. In both the hospital and her previous supervising job at Sports Chalet, she said she has encountered gender discrimination.

“I’ve never seen so many women working at just one place. [Archer] is different, in a very positive way,” Ortiz said. “Respectfully to other places I’ve worked for, you do get that differential in how someone treats you, as a male versus a female, where they want to be top-notch and make you feel like you’re under them. You feel it everywhere you go, even at a liquor store or supermarket.”

Ortiz said she encourages the Archer community to continue the positive spirit many teachers and members of the administration cultivate.

“Saying ‘good morning’ and ‘how are you?’ is an automatic thing for me, since I don’t like to feel that awkwardness with people,” Ortiz said. “[Archer] is really doing something great to these girls. A positive attitude is one thing that changes a lot of people, especially for people with mental health issues, that ‘good morning’ or ‘how are you’ can change someone’s attitude for the day.”

Director of Security and Transportation Yoshi Wilson has worked at Archer for six years. Before Archer, she was a workplace experience team member at edmunds.com managing account reconciliation, facilities and administration. She said she was “the mama hen” of her last job, which was a supportive community.

“I have been fortunate to work with people who do not discriminate or feel that a woman can’t do certain things. I’m big on making sure men understand I can do the same things they can do,” Wilson said. “Sometimes, I’ll get out there with our facilities team and help move tables and chairs. I’m an overall team player, so whatever needs to be done at any worksite I’m going to step in; if that means getting on the ladder, then I’m going to get on the ladder.” 

At Archer, she works with students on transportation matters while also contributing to certain projects, including the construction of the Class of 2023’s senior gift, a wooden swing, saying she is “all about woman power.”

“As a woman, I am proud to watch all of you talented, young ladies of the next generation — the next president and doctors and attorneys — and how you come together and handle things. Just to see women start a garden, create a senior swing, do robotics and step into those roles is a genuinely good feeling for me,” Wilson said. “Back when I was in school, I would never have wanted to go to an all-girls school. But now I wonder where I would be now if I had the Archer experience. When I see you on the news I’ll say, ‘I remember her; I used to let her go across the street!’” 

As the friendly face of the front office, Administrative Assistant Nilusha Patel has been with Archer for 23 years. She began as an assistant in the advancement and college guidance office, helping Archer’s first graduating class in 2001. Patel was temporarily moved to the front office and said she quickly realized she loved helping parents, picking up the phone and talking to students; she has worked there since then. 

Patel formerly attended an all-girls Catholic school in Karachi, Pakistan, called St. Joseph’s Convent High School. She moved on to study at an all-women’s college, and then upon getting married, she moved to America and discovered Archer. 

“Working with all women and all girls is a one-of-a-kind experience that many don’t really understand. They’re so confident because there’s no competition going on with the boys. They can speak for themselves,” Patel said. “It’s a lovely school here with all our beautiful teachers and admin staff. Everyone is so supportive, and it’s happy when you walk on campus to see people playing music or painting. I’m very lucky to be here at Archer. It’s my family.”

One of Archer’s servery workers, Eman Said, is a cashier by day and an accountant by night at Pierce College. Two years ago, she started working at Archer, where she said she’s developed close bonds with students, who have helped her practice her English language skills as she scans bar codes for their lunches. 

Eleven years ago, she moved to the United States from Egypt to pursue accounting, a profession she has been studying since college in her home country. She has recently taken a break due to regional conflict from the Israel-Hamas war, but she said she plans to get her certificate once the conflict ends and pursue a job at a bank. 

“Accounting is my dream since I love math so much. In my country, after I finished college, I worked for Citibank for six months and saw that my manager was a woman,” Said said. “I was jealous and said, ‘Why am I not like her?’ She’s the manager for many banks. I said, ‘You know what? I want to be like her. I want to be on top for my accounting at any company because I love my position.’”