Student spotlight: Meet Joshua Gruhl

Education is one of the four pillars of UNMC’s mission, and our students are the lifeblood of that aspect of campus life.
In UNMC Today’s Student Spotlight, we get to know some of these students, who will become tomorrow’s health care professionals. Today we meet:

• Name: Joshua Gruhl
• Hometown: Lincoln
• Program/Year: Third-year medical student

List three songs on your playlist.

• “Homegrown,” Zach Brown Band
• “Every Other Freckle,” Alt-J
• “Fragments,” Thievery Corporation

What sparked your interest in medicine?
I grew up in Lincoln and attended East High School. Then I received a bachelor’s degree in business from Colorado State University (Go Rams!). After working in finance for four years in Denver, I realized that I was searching for something more in my life and decided to follow my childhood interest in health and science — combined with my passion for meeting new people and forming long-term relationships — and pursue a career in medicine. I enrolled in a one-year post-baccalaureate pre-medical program at Montana State University in Bozeman, took advantage of living in arguably the best trout-fishing region in the country, and ended up back amongst family and friends in Nebraska.

Your favorite study snack is:

Lay’s BBQ wavy chips, hot tamales, or Salween Thai green curry.

Your favorite app is:
MapMyRun

Three things people may not know about you:

• I have a 110-lb. Newfoundland named Madison. There is nothing in life that she’d rather do than jump into a river and chase after a fish splashing around on the end of someone’s line. She’s never caught one, but that doesn’t stop her from trying.
• One of my lifelong goals is to work as a physician in a foreign country for part of every year, helping to set up local clinics, hospitals, and educational programs for local health care professionals.
• If I didn’t go to med school, I’d be a fly-fishing guide in Bozeman, Mont., by day and a chef by night. But I’m incredibly happy I chose med school. I cannot imagine doing anything more rewarding with my life.