(Peru, Neb.) - The Peru State College Foundation Board of Directors elected Julie Bauman of Falls City as its newest member. Bauman officially begins her term at the Board- May meeting.

The Foundation is a private, non-profit corporation whose sole mission is to support Peru State College through receipt and distribution of charitable gifts to support the College. Board members serve on a voluntary basis for a three-year term.

Foundation Board Chair Jeff Greenwald of Lincoln noted, “Julie will be an excellent addition to the Foundation Board. She brings a wealth of knowledge and experience that will be beneficial as we continue to move the Foundation forward. Julie comes from a family of Peru State alumni and is totally committed to the future success of the College.”

Greenwald, a 1971 alumnus, added, “Julie received the full support of the Board. She had received glowing recommendations from Richard Halbert, a former Nebraska State College Board of Trustees member from Falls City; Jerry Joy (’64) from Stella, long-time Peru State College employee; and Chris Lindner (’05), an audit partner at FORVIS in Lincoln.”

Bauman, a native of Dawson and a 1995 Peru State graduate, is the chief executive officer/owner of Julie D. Bauman, CPA, P.C., in Falls City. Her practice is a strategic consulting firm that provides wealth and tax savings strategies to high-net-worth clients who need tax savings plans, as well as CFO and CEO or COO services to single family offices and virtual family offices. Her firm is expanding from a tax planning firm to a firm of the future with broader services.

Bauman opened her business in 2002 and purchased another accounting firm in the first year. The certified public accountant is registered in Nebraska, Kansas, and Missouri. Prior to starting her own business, Bauman served as the senior manager for the accounting firm of Prosser and Campbell, P.C., in Falls City.

Bauman is active in her profession and in the Falls City and Richardson County area. Currently, she is a member of the Nebraska Enterprise Fund, the Association of International Certified Professional

Accountants (AICPA), and the Institute of Management Accountants (IMA). In addition, she is a board member of the Nebraska Client Assistance Program through the Nebraska Supreme Court. She previously served as the Chairman of the Board for the Nebraska Society of CPAs.

Locally, she is a board member of the Richardson County House of Hope and the F & M Bank.

Several members of the Ramsey family are also Peru State graduates. Her brother John graduated in 1993 and her late father, John J., was a 1963 Bobcat graduate. While at Peru State, Bauman was involved on campus, serving as a football cheerleader, president of Phi Beta Lambda (now Collegiate FBLA), was inducted into Alpha Chi national honor society, and participated in intramurals.

She is married to Matt Bauman, and they will celebrate their 30th anniversary this summer. They have three children, John - 25, Kyle - 20, and Rachel - 12 - a sixth grader at Falls City Sacred Heart. Matt and the boys manage and run Bauman Farms and Bauman P&K, LLC.

“The road to Peru State College for me was almost missed, as at my high school graduation with diploma in my hand and just delivering my valedictorian speech, I was completely unsure if I would even go to any college,” Bauman said.

“It was, most definitely expected, as my dad had graduated from PSC and my older brother John M. Ramsey was currently attending and playing basketball for Peru State College,” she added. “Being unsure, scared and with no plan for life, my mom stepped in and signed me up for cheerleading tryouts, and from there I moved to Peru.”

Bauman added, “What I learned in the first two weeks from my accounting one professor, Mr. (Russell) Beldin, was that I liked accounting and was a quick learner - which was not the case in high school.

“What I gained from my marketing teacher, Mr. (Bob) Lewellen, was to write down my goals, set them high, look at them every day and then reset new ones each year. This was probably the most profound attribute that I took away from Peru State College.”

“To take a position on the Foundation Board actually was a goal of mine to achieve and wanting to give back to Peru State for what built my fundamentals and career,” she said. “I am sure there are so many kids in high school just like me, struggling, unsure and scared with no plan. I would like to help build their plans to take the road to Peru.