Gage was born in the Northeast Kingdom and grew up with a near constant exposure to work in agriculture and construction as well as outdoor recreation like hunting, skiing, and camping. NorthWoods’ canoe camps and youth conservation corps were an important part of this upbringing. After high school he did a year at Plymouth State University before spending some time traveling the nation and freelancing primarily in tree work, gardening, carpentry, and stonework. While working on a family beef farm and sugarbush he wound up attending Sterling College in Craftsbury Vermont and graduating with a B.A. in ecology. After graduating he was working on the farm and for a few clients when a full time position became available at NorthWoods. Gage now spends his days around campus doing the things he’d prefer to be up to in spare time anyways, cutting firewood and pushing material around with a tractor.