Jamila Zaki

Jamila Zaki

Zaki is an award-winning journalist who is transferring from El Camino College to the University of California, San Luis Obispo as a journalism major. She has served as a staff writer and photojournalist for The Union and Warrior Life Magazine. 

Explore below to discover more of Zaki's work.

El Camino College The Union •

Jake Smith harmonizes politics and a passion for percussion

With a tall, slim stature, one might think he’s a basketball player.
However, he can be found spending most of his time on the first floor of the Communications Building in meetings with the Associated Students Organization.
But once the weekend commences, melodic tunes spark from his fingers through the mallets he maneuvers on the marimba.
Jake Smith, 20, is a political science major at El Camino College. He plans to transfer to the University of California, Los Angeles, during fall 2025 as a p...
El Camino College The Union •

Twin telepathy: two brothers’ journey in becoming public service workers

When Juana Prieto was congratulated by family and hospital workers on Oct. 10, 2005 on the birth of healthy twin boys at Memorial Hospital of Gardena, she was asked what to name her sons.
She named her firstborn Rafael Valadez-Prieto, after the twins’ dad.
Her brother, Abel Prieto, Jr. named the other twin John Valadez-Prieto.
Born just one minute apart, the twin boys forged two different career pathways that share a common goal.
Protect and serve their loved ones and community.
The twins began...
El Camino College The Union •

Clicks on Campus: from YouTube to TikTok, these are the top websites visited at ECC

Through the campus Wi-Fi, El Camino College tracks the websites most often visited by students, staff and faculty. This might sound like an invasion of privacy, but nothing is as private as it seems –especially when using a public domain paid for with the public’s tax dollars.
Warrior Life contacted acting Chief Technology Officer Carter Williams from Information Technology Services to find out what sites the ECC community are searching.
1. Microsoft (Outlook email, OneDrive, Word, Excel and Pow...
El Camino College The Union •

ECC dance department should expand its program and cultural dance class offerings

Dance is life. Dance brings community. It’s a form of self-expression.
For years, all over the world, dance has shared stories and documented history through physical movement.
According to Harvard Health, dance relieves stress, improves physical health by lowering cholesterol and building muscle, and strengthens memory and problem-solving skills.
The El Camino College dance department has a wonderful program, but I believe they should offer more resources and a greater variety of cultural danc...
El Camino College The Union •

Maintain your wealth: Best credit unions in the South Bay

Whether a student is in university, college or community college, being financially literate is essential.
According to the Annual Factbook, the majority of students who attended El Camino College from 2022-2023 are 19 years old or younger. Following are students between ages 20 to 24. The rest are between ages 25 to 55 plus.
Students at this stage of their lives are learning how to manage their finances, budget, use credit and debit cards, and more.
However, data shows that 45% of students atte...
El Camino College The Union •

Spiritual journey through Umrah

Drops of sweat rolled down my face as I stood just a few steps before the mighty Kaaba, the holy place Muslims visit for pilgrimage in Mecca, Saudi Arabia.
It looked so ethereal and ancient.
The voices of people chanting “Labaik Allahuma Labaik, Labaik La Sharika Laka Labaik, Inna Al-Hamda Wa An-Ni’mata Laka Wal Mulk La Sharika Lak,” (Here I am, O God, here I am. Here I am, You have no partner, here I am. Truly, all have no partner), echoed across Mecca.
Black birds chirped harmonious melodies...
El Camino College The Union •

Warriors dominate in 14-1 against Compton

With calm, cool and comradery, the Warriors brought laser focus into their noon game against the Compton College Tartars on Saturday, April 5 at Warrior Field.
Infielder Lucas Bonham scored the first home run of the game in the bottom of the fifth inning.
Throughout the game, Bonham went three-for-four with a double, home run, four RBIs and three runs scored.
He extended his hitting streak to five games and his multi-hit game streak to four straight to help the Warriors complete the sweep.
Afte...
El Camino College The Union •

Super sculptor: Art professor retiring after 23 years firing clay and melting metal

Living off just $50 a month.
Teaching in a small, secular village near the jungle of Paso Ancho in Jalisco, Mexico.
Colorful plantations of papaya and vegetables surrounded his living grounds and workspace.
This sounds out of the ordinary for California-native art, sculpture and design professor Russell “Russ” McMillin, who has taught classes at El Camino College for the past 23 years.
“Everybody has amazing creativity inside of them and my job is to just help unlock that for them, to unlock the...
El Camino College The Union •

Survey shows El Camino employees want improved communication with college leadership

Results from a recent survey show that El Camino College employees indicate improvements are needed with the college’s communication, executive leadership, and work environment.
The Employee Campus Climate Survey, administered by the Office of Institutional Research and Planning at ECC, includes faculty, staff, administrators, part-time employees, and temporary non-classified employees.
The results were presented at the ECC District Board of Trustees meeting Monday, March 24.
“We have done the s...
El Camino College The Union •

El Camino journalism department wins several national, statewide awards

Staff from The Union newspaper and Warrior Life magazine were recently recognized with multiple awards at two national journalism conventions.
Six students attended the CMA Spring National College Media Convention in New York City from Feb. 26 to March 1, and nine students attended the ACP Spring National College Media Conference in Long Beach from March 6 to March 8.
In total, the El Camino College journalism program was recognized by four different journalism organizations and took home 46 awa...

My Latest Work

Warrior Life Magazine

El Camino College The Union •

Spiritual journey through Umrah

Drops of sweat rolled down my face as I stood just a few steps before the mighty Kaaba, the holy place Muslims visit for pilgrimage in Mecca, Saudi Arabia.
It looked so ethereal and ancient.
The voices of people chanting “Labaik Allahuma Labaik, Labaik La Sharika Laka Labaik, Inna Al-Hamda Wa An-Ni’mata Laka Wal Mulk La Sharika Lak,” (Here I am, O God, here I am. Here I am, You have no partner, here I am. Truly, all have no partner), echoed across Mecca.
Black birds chirped harmonious melodies...
El Camino College The Union •

Clicks on Campus: from YouTube to TikTok, these are the top websites visited at ECC

Through the campus Wi-Fi, El Camino College tracks the websites most often visited by students, staff and faculty. This might sound like an invasion of privacy, but nothing is as private as it seems –especially when using a public domain paid for with the public’s tax dollars.
Warrior Life contacted acting Chief Technology Officer Carter Williams from Information Technology Services to find out what sites the ECC community are searching.
1. Microsoft (Outlook email, OneDrive, Word, Excel and Pow...
El Camino College The Union •

Twin Telepathy: Two brothers’ aim toward becoming public service workers

When Juana Prieto was congratulated by family and hospital workers on Oct. 10, 2005, on the birth of healthy twin boys at Memorial Hospital of Gardena, she was asked what to name her sons.
She named her firstborn Rafael Valadez-Prieto, after the twins’ dad.
Her brother, Abel Prieto Jr., named the other twin John.
Born just one minute apart, the twin boys forged two different career pathways that share a common goal.
Protect and serve their loved ones and community.
Read the full story here.

Whe...

Multimedia

El Camino College The Union •

Maintain your wealth: Best credit unions in the South Bay

Whether a student is in university, college or community college, being financially literate is essential.
According to the Annual Factbook, the majority of students who attended El Camino College from 2022-2023 are 19 years old or younger. Following are students between ages 20 to 24. The rest are between ages 25 to 55 plus.
Students at this stage of their lives are learning how to manage their finances, budget, use credit and debit cards, and more.
However, data shows that 45% of students atte...
The Union •

Jake Smith harmonizes politics and a passion for percussion

With a tall, slim stature, one might think he’s a basketball player.

However, he can be found spending most of his time on the first floor of the Communications Building in meetings with the Associated Students Organization.

But once the weekend commences, melodic tunes spark from his fingers through the mallets he maneuvers on the marimba.

Jake Smith, 20, is a political science major at El Camino College. He plans to transfer to University of California, Los Angeles during fall 2025 as a political science major.

He has been the commissioner of external Affairs for ASO since fall 2024 and is vice president of the Inter-Club Council.

While his involvements on campus display his passion for political science, his other passion is playing the marimba.

Link to the full article:
eccunion .com/features/2025/05/25/jake-smith-harmonizes-politics-and-a-passion-for-percussion/
The Union •

Twin telepathy: Two brothers’ aim toward becoming public service workers

When Juana Prieto was congratulated by family and hospital workers in October 2005 on the birth of healthy twin boys at Memorial Hospital of Gardena, she was asked what to name her sons.

She named her firstborn Rafael Valadez-Prieto, after the twins’ dad.

Her brother, Abel Prieto Jr., named the other twin John.

Born just one minute apart, the twin boys forged two different career pathways that share a common goal.

Protect and serve their loved ones and community.

Read the full story here:
eccunion .com/warrior-life/2025/05/25/twin-telepathy-two-brothers-journey-in-becoming-public-service-workers/

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