A Place to Call Home: Víctor Arrieta ’95

A Place to Call Home: Víctor Arrieta ’95 

On his first day of class at Belen, Víctor Arrieta ’95 walked into school with his green backpack strapped on his shoulders. Three years later, he wore the same backpack on his first day working at his Alma Mater.
 

Born in Brazil and visiting the United States often, Víctor decided he wanted to move to Miami, Florida. At fourteen years old, he departed from his home country with a one-way ticket. Once settled in Miami, he enrolled at Belen for tenth grade. He ran cross country and track, qualifying for the regional championship race for the hurdles.
 

With his Belen Jesuit experience behind him, Víctor decided he wanted to give back and began to help out coaching the sixth-grade cross country team. With continued success, he was promoted to become the coach for middle school. He says, “I like coaching middle school because I get to train the runners that grow up to contribute to the high school team.” Without Víctor’s dedication to the job, the middle and high school programs would not see as much success as they do.
 

Working at Belen has given him the opportunity to connect with alumni that work at the school and build relationships with many students, the future alumni. For example, Víctor was good friends with Fr. Christian Sáenz, S.J. ’95 during high school and continues to be to this day. He has also made good friendships with 

students that have become co-workers as they join the faculty. Carlos Jiménez ’15 would help Victor coach the track team while he was in school; now, though they work in different departments, Jiménez is steadfast in his commitment to aid Víctor in coaching.
 

For a time, Víctor could have been found in the classroom, teaching freshman PE and Health classes. Though teaching took some getting used to, he enjoyed forming relationships with his students and getting to know them on a personal level. Currently, he is the Assistant to the Athletic Director. In this position, he works with coaches from the entire athletic department, who have become good friends of his. Along with the coaching staff, Arrieta is excited to move into the new athletic building, knowing the facilities that await his runners and all of the school teams.
 

Debatably Víctor’s most important commitment on campus is being the head high school track and field coach. In contrast to other sports, track and field allows him to enjoy a variety of events which, “create a potpourri of athletes from the school: jumpers, throwers, runners.” He enjoyed coaching last year’s team and looks forward to the coming season. As one of his cross country runners in middle school and track runners in high school, I have realized that the spirit in his coaching style is unmatched. While other coaches strive to see good athletic results in their athletes, Víctor pushes his athletes to be respectful men for others in addition to pursuing physical excellence.
 

In addition to coaching, Víctor connects with student-athletes at Belen in a different way. He does this through his lens. In 1998, when Arrieta hosted his first sports banquet, he realized that he didn’t have enough pictures of every sport. The solution was simple: take the pictures himself. Since then, he has taken pictures documenting the games and competitions of most sports, including soccer, basketball, football, swimming, running, and more. By consistently attending games, Víctor builds relationships with teams and their players.
 

It is evident that Víctor works at his alma mater because of the values he instills in his athletes. His Belen education was part of what shaped him into the respectful, kind-hearted, and diligent coach he has become. And now, he is helping form the same, new generation of men for others.