Newly appointed board of trustees member Kenneth Brown recently filled the vacant spot left by the late Nathaniel Jackson.

“I saw this as an opportunity.” Brown said, “An open door, that I had to take.”

Brown filled the seat on the board of trustees after longtime member Nathaniel Jackson passed away on November 21, 2010.

In addition to his work with the board of trustees, Brown is working in his ninth year as a physics instructor at CSU Dominguez Hills,  is an advisory board member for LACC and CSULA, and previously had a full-time job working as a project analyst at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratories.

Some of Brown’s goals are to shine light on the schools in our district, by preparing them for college and also to encourage current community college students to continue their education after El Camino.

“I want to make sure that students are prepared once they get into El Camino, and they would be ready to get out,” Brown said, adding that only 15 percent get out of EC.

Being the newest addition to the board, his colleagues have welcomed him with open arms and are happy to have him aboard.

“He had the background that enables him to catch on pretty quickly,” William Beverly, president of the board of trustees said, “It was like jumping on a moving train, but he seems to be holding on pretty well.”

Coming aboard to fill the spot of Jackson, who had been apart of the board for three terms, left others having high expectations for Brown.

“He has big shoes to fill,” Mary Combs, member of the board, said, “But he is doing a pretty amazing job, he really is a great addition.”

Another thing Brown hopes to accomplish with his time on the board is to inform the students about the board of trustees.

“I want the students to have access to the board and know how it works,” Brown said, “I want them to know about the board meetings and know that they can attend to voice their opinions. I’m all about business.”

Other than attending the monthly board meetings, Brown has an interest in attending El Camino’s sporting and art events.

“I bring my kids to the basketball games and I’m also looking forward to seeing the theater performances,” Brown said, “How are you going to talk about it if you don’t even know what it’s about.”

Brown encourages students to be active in extracurricular activities and to try new things.

“If you can continue to keep yourself busy and stay wise, you can do a lot of things,” Brown said, “You’re in college, so go out there and do things.”

Brown’s term will end in Nov. 2011 but has hopes to return for the next term.

“I’ve already decided to run for the next term,” Brown said, “I want to do this, it’s been really challenging but it is something that I want to continue.”