
Meet Archi Lora
Always a Fantastic Day
Archibaldo “Archi” Lora
Steppingstone 2008 / Thayer Academy 2014/ Lesley University 2018
From Archi Lora’s earliest days as a Scholar, “Steppingstone felt like home.”
For the 2008 Alumnus, “it was one of the first times I felt that I was in a truly diverse environment,” he recounts. Since his first summer, his life path has led him from Thayer Academy to Lesley University and then back to Steppingstone as a beloved staff member for the past three years.
This summer, as he looks ahead to a new chapter in life, he thinks back to a Steppingstone teacher’s words, assuring a room of Scholars that they’d each find their own unique niche. “He said it way funnier,” Archi adds with a laugh. Yet the idea “was just burned into my mind.”
In reflecting on his Steppingstone story, as in everything he does, Archi continually brightens the mood with his naturally positive and lively spirit.
“I’m always having a fantastic day!” he exclaims. It shows.
FAVORITE MEMORIES
As an Advisor, Archi brought that same spirit every day to supporting the personal and academic growth of a cohort of middle schoolers with social-emotional/study skills classes, check-ins, and group activities. In his role, he helped to organize everything from orientations to family potlucks to overnight retreats.
The culture encouraged everyone on staff “to get to know each other on a deeply personal level,” he reflects. He loved the impromptu hangouts with other Advisors and traditions like the staff Thanksgiving potluck.
“The summer is always the best part of it,” he adds. “It’s crazy that the same games and activities I played when I was 10 I could play with my students, too.”
PREPARATION AND SUPPORT
When Archi first applied to Steppingstone himself at a teacher’s recommendation, he didn’t get in. But he didn’t let that stop him. Self-motivated by nature, he persisted and was accepted for the next year. Looking back, “the thought of meeting new people and learning in a new space was really appealing to me.”
With Steppingstone’s preparation and support, he entered Thayer Academy in 7th grade, where he went on to gr
aduate in 2014.
During the dual pandemics, he believes his own role as an Advisor took on an even deeper meaning. “Children are very attuned to stress,” he reflects. He feels that it helped Scholars to see in him someone who
did his best to keep calm and patient, especially when so many kids in general were having such a tough time.
As he expands on the point, he repeats one of his mantras: “celebrate the little things.”
HIS FAMILY’S STORY
Born in the Dominican Republic, Archi came to the United States when he was only a year old. His parents immigrated to Boston, where much of his dad’s extended family had already settled. His first time back in his family’s homeland wasn’t until age 18, but returning gave him clearer insight into the world in which his parents had grown up.
As he sees it now, “one goal for all Steppingstone families is to learn to navigate the educational system,” from middle school through college.
SUPPORT TO RELY ON
Looking ahead to the next chapter in his own career, “every conversation is an opportunity,” he says. As one possibility, he imagines working in admission and financial aid within higher education, gaining a broader perspective on college access and success.
If something seems da
unting at first, the staff and community of Scholars will be there to help you to work through and learn from it.
Some of Archi’s closest friends are fellow Alumni that he met through Steppingstone. He’s made a point to stay connected. Through whatever twists and turns his path has taken, he knows he can count on them to understand where he’s come from and what he’s going through.
ENDURING PRIDE
Since his Scholar days, he feels the program has continued to evolve, including taking “more of a holistic approach” to preparation.