When Gage Latham was growing up in Maryville, he dove head-first into anything he endeavored – a trait that followed him to college at ETSU.
He grew up in church and loved spending time outdoors. He was active in multiple sports, including football, basketball, baseball and golf, playing on both school and travel teams; loved to hunt and fish; and, as an only child, enjoyed imaginary WWE matches on his trampoline and having all the fun he could invent by himself in the swimming pool.
Likewise, Gage dove head-first into student life at ETSU. He has held numerous leadership roles, including president, of the Christian fraternity BYX – Brothers Under Christ. He is an Expedition Leader, introducing prospective students to ETSU through campus tours. He also helps new students become comfortable and acclimate to campus life as a Preview and Orientation Leader, and is excited about his new role as a New Student and Family Programs intern, in which he will shepherd younger leaders in reaching their full potential.
“I love sharing my story for students here at ETSU,” he said. “I love making them feel at home and want them to call this place home, as well. I know how much it has affected my life and my goals, how sweet it’s been to me, and I know it can do the same for others.”
In addition, Gage is proud to be an inaugural member of the new Student Foundation Ambassadors organization, which empowers student leaders to spread the spirit of philanthropy among their peers, alumni and donors.
“I love making students feel at home and want them to call ETSU home, as well.”
- Gage Latham
A junior majoring in health sciences, Gage plans to become a physician. His mother, a nurse, found a piece of paper on which he wrote in kindergarten that he wanted to be a doctor when he grew up. On top of that lifelong inclination, other factors led him in that direction, too.
“I’m very injury-prone,” he said. “I’ve ‘lived’ in the doctor’s office. I’ve fractured several vertebrae. I’ve dislocated kneecaps. Name just about any injury, and I’ve probably done it. So I thought, ‘If you can’t beat ‘em, you might as well join ‘em.’ When my sports career was cut short because of my injuries, I remember how my orthopedic surgeon/doctor was there for me through that process, like the light of Christ, and the opportunity to affect someone else’s life in that exact same way helped draw me into medicine.”
Gage loves many things about ETSU, including the similarities between Johnson City and his hometown, its proximity to mountains and the Quillen College of Medicine on the VA Medical Center campus, its affordability, and attending school with some of his best childhood friends. But what he appreciates most is the opportunities for growth and development.
“The thing I’m most proud of is finding what kind of person I am – what kind of leader
I am – and being able to not only establish myself but really hone those traits and
characteristics and become the best possible version of myself.”
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