There are some people who have a reputation for always being able to lend a helping hand wherever it’s needed. Gage Gatlin is that type of person. A facilities assistant with the Northwest College physical plant since 2019, Gage is among the unheralded members of the college staff who make sure things are running smoothly, sometimes in the most difficult of conditions.

Gage moved to Powell from Las Vegas when he was in first grade and attended Northwest College for the music tech program from 2011-13. Four years later, with a wealth of experience in the restaurant industry, he returned to NWC as part of the food services team where his skills as a cook weren’t limited to feeding students on campus. He was also responsible for meals at the Mickelson Field Station, a remote mountain retreat owned by the college and used for a variety of functions by groups of all sizes. It was while covering events there that Gage met a group of NWC staff members who changed the course of his career.

“The second summer I was there, Deb (Jacobs) mentioned there was an opening at the physical plant and thought I should apply. At first, I wasn’t sure, but I’d been cooking for years and was kind of getting tired of it, so I decided to give it a try and see what it was about. It’s been awesome ever since.”

Part of the transition from food services to the physical plant meant Gage would need to earn a CDL (commercial driver’s license), a challenge he embraced. It was another way of expanding his skill set to help the college in another role, one that gives him an opportunity to hit the road from time to time and support NWC students in a completely different fashion: as a bus driver for Trapper athletics. He credits several people at NWC for helping him complete the hours of training it took and giving him the confidence to take on the additional responsibility, and it’s something he thoroughly enjoys.

In a sense, his time as a driver serves a similar function to his time working on campus. In both scenarios, Gage is making sure the college and its students have everything they need to accomplish the task at hand, or successfully get through the day and on to their next task or destination.