Baker Maultsby
Contributing Writer

Jabaree Ackbar ‘23 is no stranger to overcoming obstacles. Despite battling family instability and poverty as a child, he stayed focused, applied himself academically, and went on to find success both in college and after.

Ackbar said Spartanburg Methodist College played a big part in that success, where he experienced “an amazing ride that I never wanted to end.”

College life, of course, does come to an end, but while he feels a sense of longing for his undergraduate years, he is happy with how things are going now in his mid-20s.

“The start to my career has been fantastic,” Ackbar said. “I’m gaining amazing experience and adding new skills to my toolbox, and I am loving every minute of it.”

Thanks in large part to his SMC education, he is several years into a promising career in finance. Following a stint working in accounts receivable for a collections company, he’s now an anti-money laundering investigative analyst for TD Bank.

In both roles, Ackbar has been like a sponge, soaking up as much knowledge and perspective as possible.

Ackbar’s path has not always been smooth. His home life was a difficult one. He was a good student, but his family’s instability meant that he was frequently on the move.

“It affected my ability to make friends, maintain relationships, and trust people,” he said, adding that what many considered normal was absent in his upbringing. “I have never been on any family vacations or been in any family portraits. I never had my own room or anything like that. I wasn’t dealt the best hand.”

Looking back, he believes those hardships strengthened his character and sharpened his resolve.

“Changing schools and neighborhoods so often gave me a leg up on understanding and relating to people because I met different types of people from all walks of life,” Ackbar said. “And with so many younger siblings, I had the responsibility of being a leader my entire life.”

Ackbar graduated from Byrnes High School, where he was an honors student.

As he weighed college options, he recalled a visit he’d made several years earlier to the SMC campus.

“I can remember as a 12-year-old kid touring and visiting SMC for the first time and telling myself that I would end up there,” he said.

At SMC, he was in the first cohort to graduate with a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration in Accounting and Finance. Along the way, he valued friendships with classmates – a group he described as diverse, with a wide range of life experiences, attitudes, and ideas. They pushed each other to learn, grow, and think critically.

“The professors did an amazing job of teaching the material in a unique way that made the experience not only fun but also meaningful, impactful, and direct,” Ackbar said. “I learned terminology and concepts that I use daily in my career.”

The college’s Camak Core professional development program was an incredibly formative part of his college experience.

“It helped me generate a lot of confidence and a sense of calm in my ability to be professional, to interview well, and to solve various situations in the workplace,” he said. “SMC was tremendous. It was a great foundation for success.”

Ackbar is now pursuing a Master’s in Accounting. Looking ahead, he hopes to own his own business – possibly launching several ventures – and to have his mom on salary so she will never have to struggle to make ends meet again.

His determination to give back extends to his community, including to his alma mater.

“I am always a Pioneer, and I’m committed to helping pioneer the growth of SMC in the future,” Ackbar said. “I hope one day I will be remembered not for selfish ambition but for the impact on the lives God has called me to serve.”