“Take off your cleats!” One might know Victor Barreto as the voice jokingly scolding soccer players for wearing their cleats in the gym or as the man working late nights keeping classrooms pristine for students.

Mr. Barreto has worked at Hackley since 1996: initially on FLIK staff for ten years, then at the Zetkov Athletic Center for eight years, and on to the Lower, Middle and Upper Schools. Describing his current responsibilities maintaining our campus, he said, “In the night, we focus on cleaning. In the day, the workers do gardening, landscaping, painting, fixes, but we work on cleaning carpets and floors.”

Mr. Barreto was raised and attended college in Peru, immigrating to the United States in 1994. “There was a change of government and they started to close jobs. They all went bankrupt and the people were left unemployed.” Mr. Barreto explained his decision to leave Peru as necessary for his family’s survival. “My wife stayed in Peru with the kids [his daughter and son were aged two and six at the time] and I worked here and sent money. In my country, family came first. Separating from my family was the most difficult thing and was also a test of my resistance and how far I could go for my kids.”

At Hackley for 19 years, Mr. Barreto still enjoys every day on campus. He works at a nursing home during the day and then with the B&G staff cleaning the Upper School at night. As he spends time with two sides of the spectrum, both elderly people and teenagers coming of age, he describes his daily experience as “the irony of life.” He added, “My life is ironic. I see it like a mirror. [When I go to the nursing home,] I tell myself, ‘That is the ending I will have,’ and when I come to Hackley I say, ‘That’s what I have done, what I lived through.’”

As Mr. Barreto watches students grow up, he recalls his own years in high school. He reminisces about his experiences with girls when he sees a student flirting with another and joking around in the gym. “Since I walk around the building, I see many things and laugh because I’ve done those things. It’s beautiful. When you’re at this school for many years, you discover things that you miss. One can say they never want to go back to high school but when you finish it, you remember your friends and classmates.”

Mr. Barreto also enjoys giving students advice for the future. “Life is like that, you have to confront it. Sometimes we give up. In life we always have to be fighting and trying to get what we want. Youth is the best thing one person can have. You’re forming your character and you’ll achieve what you want if you fight for it,” he commented.

He has seen many students complete high school, graduate from college, and return to the Hilltop as professionals. Mr. Barreto said, “It makes me happy to see them and have them remember me.” He also attends graduation each year to say goodbye to each class. “I have all the yearbooks since I came here at my house. When I leave, I’ll look at them and remember them,” he said.

As Mr. Barreto approaches retirement, he comments on his life plan after Hackley. He mused, “Life is a cycle. You finish one cycle and you’re onto the next. I think that mine is about to end. When I finish [working], I’ll go back to my country and wait until my time comes.”