Our featured intern this month is Brontson Leach who currently serves as UNM Rainforest Innovations’ Student Accounting Intern. Spending part of his childhood in Alaska, his family moved to the Capitan/Ruidoso area in 2010 where he also graduated from high school.
“My mom and my dad are still down in Ruidoso living their best semi-retired life along with 3 dogs, 4 goats, and flock of chickens. My sister is in Colorado right now entering her last year of undergrad at Colorado Christian University and she’s killing it and I’m extremely proud of her. I go home often so I see my parents and it’s always good to see them.”
After graduating from high school, Brontson attended the University of New Mexico to study exercise science before transferring to the University of Arizona for two years. He decided to come back to UNM to finish his BBA degree with a concentration in accounting. “For career aspirations I’m not sure where my end goal to be is. I think somewhere in the Accounting Field where I’ll be managing people… I think education-wise I’m going to get my bachelor’s degree and then work for a while before I start thinking about going back to school for my Masters.”
As part of his internship, Brontson’s responsibilities include coding and recording various invoices, updating briefs, and managing information in UNMRI’s software programs. “This is my first in-office job, so I’ve learned a lot by observing things like the workflow and how to communicate in a professional manner. Learning how and why we’re coding and why it’s important that everything matches up is also cool to see.”
When asked what his favorite part of the job was, he said it was the people. “We have so many different personalities in the office, and they all bring something to the table, it’s just great to go in and have a conversation while working with some amazing people.”
When Bronton isn’t busy with work or school, he enjoys golfing and playing sports on the weekends. “I also love watching sports and I get really into the NFL when it comes back around. I really enjoy reading and watching movies too. I spent a lot of time outside also with my dog whether that is going on a hike when I’m back home or just going to the park with some friends.”