Success runs in the family
By Emily Getschman
J Alumni News staff
When Jonathan Boumstein packed his bag for a recent trip to Lincoln, he made sure to include the packet of his work he had assembled to show his former professor, Stacy James.
Boumstein, a 1992 advertising graduate, was traveling to Lincoln in February to meet with a sales representative, but he also intended to drop in, say hello to James and catch her up on what he had been doing for Data Dimensions.
James had different ideas.
"I had no idea Jon was going to stop by," said James, who happened to be teaching class at the time. "I put him on the spot and asked him to share his experiences with the class. I knew Jon would rise to the occasion, and it worked to the benefit of him and me and especially the students."
As president of Data Dimensions, Boumstein had plenty to say.
After graduation, he had worked for National Research Corporation as a director of operations in the information technology department of the company. By 1998, he was ready to try something new. He was offered a job as a senior level manager for Data Dimensions in Wisconsin. Data Dimensions Solution Center provides document conversion services to companies nationwide. The process involves taking information that is on paper, engineering drawings, microfilm, microfiche, X-rays or any other base medium and converting it to an electronic format so it may be used more functionally in an automated environment.
In January 2000, Boumstein was promoted to vice president of the company, working with sales and marketing. Since he joined the ranks of upper management in 1998, the company has doubled in size and has gone from a regional company to a national organization operating from coast to coast. Boumstein was named president of the firm in 2002.
Data Dimensions' 1998 image was very different from its current image, Boumstein said.
"Everything to do with their brand was OK for a small company," Boumstein said, "but if we wanted to move to be a larger player and be more national, it needed retooling."
Boumstein fell back on his education as an advertising major to achieve that goal. He said the classes he took in advertising helped him apply new techniques and embrace the Web. Because of this, he was able to create new marketing materials and a new logo and revamp the company's image and the message it was putting out to the market place.
Jonathan Boumstein isn't the only UNL alumnus from his family to make a name for himself through his successful career. Aron Boumstein, Jonathan's nephew, graduated in 1997 with an advertising major.
"When I picked my major, I had no idea that was what he majored in," Aron said. "He thought it was a good move and a good program."
Although Aron and Jonathan admit that they were not frequently in touch during Aron's education at UNL, their lives seemed to run parallel in many ways.
"Obviously, we like some of the same things in our professional careers in that we selected the same major and we are not working for large corporations. We have more control of our own destinies," Jonathan said.
Aron currently is part owner of American Bank Equipment in Omaha. He is the vice president of operations and runs the inside part of the business. His partner is his father, who does sales for the company.
The younger Boumsteins both have fond memories of the journalism college and the things they learned.
"I have nothing but positive thoughts of my experience," Aron said. "It was the right choice for me. If I had a son or daughter and they wanted to do that, I would tell them to go for it."
Jonathan Boumstein emphasized the importance of giving back to the institution that provided his education. He intends to work with James to set up an internship program at Data Dimensions and hopes to have details in place in time to employ a student next summer.
"Now that I am in a position to have a positive impact on students' lives, that is what I really would like to do. I try to give back and provide an opportunity to someone who would like to take advantage of it."
