CHAMPAIGN — Listing the myriad ways Jamal Maatuka is involved in the community is a long exercise.
The impact that Centennial High School’s dean of students has goes well beyond the classroom.
“The only reason entrepreneurship was my guide is because if you truly want to change a person’s belief, then you have to help them with their finances,” Maatuka said. “It’s hard to hear someone preaching and trying to explain how life can be better when your life is horrible. So the first thing is, well, let me help you with your finances.”
Maatuka is among five recipients of this year’s Winding Ivy awards, which will be presented at today’s Pink Panache Scholarship Gala that the organization hosts with the Epsilon Epsilon Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc.
It holds a deep value for Maatuka, who has long been involved in Champaign-Urbana’s entrepreneurial scene, coached sports and fought for causes related to diversity and inclusion.
“It means the world,” Maatuka said.
Maatuka was born in Cleveland and moved frequently during his childhood due to his father’s work for American Airlines. The family moved to Chicagoland and changed locations frequently until Maatuka was in high school.
He accepted the challenge of becoming a good student during these times while making observations regarding education.
“I think a charge of community service was ingrained or indelibly put in the back of my mind that you have an obligation to provide experiences for others that can change their behavior,” Maatuka said. “I define education as nothing more than an experience that changes one’s behavior.”
Maatuka’s father, Arthur Coleman, passed away when Maatuka was 12 years old. The resulting life-insurance payout enabled the family to establish roots in Elgin. He credits his teachers for steering him on the path toward the University of Illinois, where he graduated with a degree in finance in 1993.
“There were some great teachers and counselors at Elgin High School, and someone somewhere saw that I was more than capable enough and took my information and sent it off to a few schools,” Maatuka said. “I took the ACT and SAT because that’s what people did. And then the next thing I know, I was accepted at the U of I because someone had applied for me.”
Unfamiliar surroundings quickly felt like home.
“After four years of undergraduate and two years of graduate school, I was almost already at a place more than I had ever been anywhere else,” Maatuka said. “Once I met my wife (Shayla) and I got involved in the community doing community service, I was like, ‘Man, this is a great place to raise a family.’”
Starting businesses has long been a passion for Maatuka. He’s been involved in numerous startups ranging from the automotive industry to websites and apps dedicated to high school sports.
Community involvement has also come naturally, from heading a publication geared toward local Black audiences to an integral role with local child care provider Village Day Care.
“Now I think I’m obligated to do whatever the men before me had done to make sure it was a great place for my children so that is a great place for others,” Maatuka said.
Helping young people through proven methods comes just as easily.
“I’m a big believer in what’s called growth mind-set,” Maatuka said. “That if you have a belief and you can marry that belief to a definable process, and if you measure the measurables — the metrics that are important that will enhance that belief — ultimately, you’ll start seeing the success that you want.”