UNM Rainforest Innovations hires student interns each semester to assist in supporting technology transfer and catalyzing economic development at the University of New Mexico (UNM). The internship program, which has now trained over two hundred students from across campus, teaches students excellent professional skills and a better understanding of the intersection of business, science, and law.
Our featured intern this month is Joshua Zarmora-Griego who currently serves as an Innovation Student Intern. Born and raised in Albuquerque, Joshua attended Albuquerque Academy High School and is currently pursuing his Bachelor of Business Administration in marketing management.
“Much of my family has always lived in New Mexico, supporting my career and pursuits. Although I want to remain flexible about where my career can go, I want to be embedded in the start-up community and expand my knowledge to help entrepreneurs turn their ideas into businesses or become one myself and eventually open my own business.”
Joshua has a plethora of hobbies he enjoys in his free time:
“I have many different hobbies, including chess, guitar, learning some new calisthenics moves, and even rock climbing. I also love to travel with friends, where recently, I traveled to Bozeman, Montana. I went cliff jumping there in the Grand Tetons and camped in Yellowstone National Park for three days.”
As an Innovation Student Intern, Joshua has been introduced to New Mexico’s entrepreneurial ecosystem and especially enjoys working with startups:
“One of the most valuable moments I had at UNM Rainforest Innovations was meeting the entrepreneurs who were starting their companies from scratch. I felt like I could relate to them and connect with their understanding, and it was interesting to see how they handled their problems within their businesses and ways UNM Rainforest could help. I’ve also learned a lot about properly managing and organizing outreach to companies and properly researching and conducting prior art searches for a wide range of start-up technologies to help these entrepreneurs in their pursuits.”
Additionally, Joshua has gained behind-the-scenes insight into Albuquerque’s entrepreneurial community and activities within the Lobo Rainforest Building, home of UNM Rainforest Innovations. When asked what he enjoys most about his job, he stated:
“I enjoy the community and the environment of entrepreneurs, co-workers, and managers around us. There is a lot of start-up technology potential in New Mexico, but there are very few places for those people to go to get help for their intellectual property and ventures to turn their ideas into actual pursuits. UNM Rainforest offers a way to bridge that gap through its connections, events, and the people who consistently work hard in the office. It is just a great environment to be a part of
“Aside from (UNM Rainforest Innovations) being a great place for start-up ideas to become a reality, I enjoy writing summaries for the new technologies that come through the university and conducting deep research about topics that range across industries, from health tech to energy.”
During his internship, Joshua participated in the 2024 Lobo Hackathon where teams spent two days refining and developing their ideas for the chance to win cash prizes. Open to students, faculty, staff, entrepreneurs, and the community, teams collaborated to fast-track their concepts. Joshua, in collaboration with Ahmed Eltelbany, developed and pitched their ideas of a smart toilet technology called BowelSense and won the top cash prize of $5,000.
As Joshua reflects on his future, and some of his hopes after graduation, he feels increasingly drawn to entrepreneurship:
“Although I can’t say for sure, I have a pretty good guess that I will become some type of serial entrepreneur or venture capital investor after graduation. I love being a part of the process of start-up companies and seeing them grow. It is something in my spirit that is hard to describe, and being around the start-up space is so exhilarating and gives me a very purposeful energy. So, I think as long as I am in the start-up space, whether as an entrepreneur or a venture capital investor, I can say I would be happy with that.”