Architectural engineering alumna finds her light as an OB-GYN
Ragan Gage, right, at East Cascade Women's Group in Bend, Ore.
ĢżI was really good at cardiology, and you could say, in a way, it's similar to electrical systems for buildings but it's involving a body.Ģż
Regan Gage thought she would be an engineer when she left Boulder with her bachelorās degree in architectural engineering in 2000.Ģż
After all, she had a passion for lighting design, and she was starting work for engineering firm Flack + Kurtz in San Francisco during the dot-com boom, even designing lighting for the education center at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.Ģż
But the light for her ultimately was somewhere else.Ģż
āI had fun projects to work on, but I decided I needed a different connection with people,ā she said. āI found that as an OB-GYN.ā
Thatās not to say that she doesnāt use her skills from her undergraduate days.Ģż
āMy engineering education taught a way to think, and you could see application,ā she said. āTake when I was in medical school. I was really good at cardiology, and you could say, in a way, itās similar to electrical systems for buildings but itās involving a body.āĢż
She added that engineering taught her how to problem-solve when problems occur in the operating room.Ģż
āIt can be many things, even figuring out how to get someoneās ovary out in a difficult situation,ā Gage said.Ģż
She is one of several doctors at East Cascade Womenās Group in Bend, Oregon, where wondrous mountains are never far away. If she has a bit of the home field advantage, it might not be just because she spent so much time here on vacations growing up. Her grandfather Al was the first pediatrician in town and even served as mayor.Ģż
āOf course, they let many people be mayor,ā she said, laughing. āIt was kind of like, āOK, itās your turn.āāĢż
Although, not everyone has a park in town named after them. And not everyone will have a legacy that stretches to a granddaughter seeing patients who once saw him.Ģż
Gageās journey also includes walking in the footsteps of Darwin, living in the Galapagos Islands in 2003 and returning multiple times as a guide.Ģż
āI heard a friendās experiences, and I liked the idea that it was so remote, so I had to do it,ā she said. āThe animals were amazing. Hammerhead sharks everywhere. Being woken by sea lions near your door. Snorkeling every day and seeing great sea life. It was incredibly special.āĢż
That adventurous spirit came in handy when she decided to finally take the leap into medicine. It would mean returning to school at 29, while many that age were already into their medical careers. Still, she enrolled in George Washington Universityās medical school in 2007 ready to tackle her studies as one more challenge.Ģż
āI donāt know if I realized how hard it was going to be,ā she said. āIf I had gone sooner, I donāt know if I would have stayed with it. I may have had wanderlust. You feel thereās a reason for things.āĢż
She looks back on her time at CU Boulder in a similar way, particularly appreciating the encouragement of professors who often let her go where her passions took her.Ģż
āThey really encouraged us to be creative, and I felt I could express myself while addressing technical aspects of projects we were working on,ā she said. āIt made my undergraduate experience more freeing.āĢż
Gage doesnāt know when her next Galapagos Islands-like adventure will be, as she enjoys life with her daughters, ages 2 and 6, and her many patients. But she realizes adventure is in wonderful relationships as much as unusual locales.Ģż
āPeople are trusting you when they make you their OB-GYN,ā she says. āThey can have nerves and can have anxiety, postpartum depression, so many things. They rely on you to help them through. I know Iām very lucky to be invited into peopleās lives as much as I am. I take it all in and think: This is a gift.ā