A new space has now opened up behind the Social Justice Center at El Camino College, where a small stairwell takes you down to the new home of the Black Student Success Center.

Almost a year since its announcement, the center hosted its “soft opening” during Black History Month on Feb. 22., giving students a sneak peek into the newly renovated space before its regular hours, Monday-Thursday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Student Success Coordinator Keiana Daniel said she started working over a year ago. She was officially the center’s coordinator in January 2022.

“I started working on the center last year, and around January, I was officially the coordinator of the space, and then I got the keys to this place around April [2022],” so I’ve been building it since then,” Daniel said.

In 2018, Daniel started as the coordinator for the Guardian Scholar Program, which supports current and former foster youth at El Camino College.

She said the center’s primary mission is to give students a safe environment to learn, grow and be creative.

“Students kind of pushed the advocacy to make sure that there were more spaces on campus for representation purposes,” Daniel said. “The Black Student Success Center was one of the first centers that had been pushed forward.”

Even in her earlier work, Daniel said she’s all about marginalized populations getting extra help and a place to feel safe.

“That’s my entire job. It’s just to be that bridge,” Daniel said. “I can be that support for students, and give them a space to grow, be creative, things like that.”

Board of Trustees President Kenneth Brown also wants to see students succeed in the goals that they want to accomplish.

“Not every Black student here is here to get a 4-year degree, and every Black student is doing different things here,” Brown said. “Reaching the finish of success is everyone’s objective, but in terms of Black student success, my goal is to see what everyone’s end goal is and see if they get there as close as possible.”

Along with a welcoming environment, the center will also provide a list of services, which includes a snack shack that will provide students with free food in collaboration with the Warrior Pantry.

With the help of ECC Student Equity and Achievement, the center will also work with Pacific Dining to ensure ready-to-go meals.

“We wanted to provide something a little more substantial for students, so each week, we’re having food delivered,” Daniel said.

“There’s a mixture of a meal bowl, there’s fruit cups, yogurt parfaits and students are helping craft the menu, so we make sure that it is, again, student-centered food.”

Other services will include writing assistance and part-time counselors to help students academically and emotionally.

“One of the main ones that I’m really excited about is our community circles,” Daniel said. “Which is actually just a place for students to come and talk about whatever issues they have.”

Dr. Ken Spears, who works at the Student Health Center, will facilitate the first community circle. The collaboration will provide a therapeutic touch for students who need it.

Kinesiology student Chinedu Adolf-Anokwute welcomes the new addition to El Camino after forming connections with the Black Student Union after returning to campus post-lockdown.

“As I was in these programs, I was noticing that we were struggling to find a spot where we could congregate consistently,” Anokwute said.

Anokwute said the opening of the Black Student Success Center will now give the group a consistent spot to meet and has helped bring in an influx of new students who have a genuine interest in learning about the program.

“I knew there were black students on campus, but up until this opened, especially one of these opening days, I saw so many people who looked like me that I didn’t even know attended campus,” Anokwute said.

The official grand opening for the Black Student Success Center is currently scheduled during Black Student Success Week in late April.

Multimedia Editor Nindiya A Maheswari Putri and Senior Staff Writer Khallid Muhsin contributed to this report.

Editor’s Note: Updated story to provide clarification for opening dates on March 2, 2023, at 7:33 a.m.