Photo credit: Archer Communications

Seniors sit with alumni in Archer’s library. “In the panel, they talked about how to give a one minute pitch to yourself, which was really important,” Isabella Veckerelli said. “I think that in life, you have to learn to be yourself, be present and advertise for yourself, and have self confidence in what you do.”

Surrounded by colorful posters and rows of books, Archer alumni spoke to seniors about their post-Archer experiences. Learning about the multiple possible careers and pathways the future holds, seniors listened intently.

The Class of 2025 sat with Archer alumni Monday, March 17, to learn about various experiences and challenges the alumni have had in their careers. The grade split up by mentorship groups, rotating between the seven alumni. All students were able to ask questions to learn more about each unique journey.

Senior Elise Kim felt inspired by the pathways the alumni took and was interested in the many experiences shared. She loved all the advice and hearing about the different jobs, ranging from being a therapist or working for Barbie to creating a summer camp or founding a non-profit.

“Something that inspired me was the fact that most of the alumni paths weren’t very linear, so they all had different paths and different interests,” Kim said. “With each different role they took, they were able to extract certain skills and implement them in their future roles and careers.”

Throughout the event, senior Isabella Veckerelli said she felt empowered by the various destinations and opportunities available after high school.

“A lot of [the alumni] didn’t know what they wanted to do when they were in high school or in college, and they sort of switched their interest after coming out of college,” Veckerelli said. “It was really inspiring to see how versatile any career path can be, and it was really cool to see how strong these women are.”

Librarian Denise Soto said she believed the event went incredible. She was glad the seniors were able to communicate with alumni who were all in completely different stages of their lives. Soto was also happy that the seniors were able to ask questions about challenges they could anticipate after leaving Archer and connect with alumni who may share similar experiences or wanted career paths.

“I felt like the vibe was super engaging. These seniors, from my perspective, they really take the future seriously, and they’ve been taking every opportunity to figure out ways to establish themselves in the world ahead of leaving Archer,” Soto said. “So many have already received their college acceptance letters and everything [so] you can hear them asking really good questions. And a lot of them stay behind to talk to the alumni. It’s just so great that we have such a good network for the seniors.” 

Soto said the way the event was organized was unexpected because she has not yet seen something like this at Archer; it provided an amazing outcome. She was happy o see the seniors so invested and engaged in their conversations.

“What stood out to me was the style [of the event],” Soto said. “Miss Huff is really trying to figure out ways to get the senior class engaged with these events. And at first none of us knew what it was, but when we saw it an action it [was] really cool. I think that if I had been a senior, I would have been really excited to do it.”