Meet Gabriel Lockhart '06
Gabriel Lockhart ‘06 graduated from Ohio State University in 2009, earning a degree in Biology with a minor in Economics. Today, he lives in Denver, CO with his wife, Leah, and their child, Julian. As a pulmonologist, Director of the ICU, and Quality Improvement Chairman for National Jewish Health/Saint Joseph Hospital, he has seen incredible success in his career and education since leaving Ohio State.
After obtaining his Doctor of Medicine degree from Ohio State in 2013, Gabriel completed a three-year pulmonary and critical care fellowship at Washington University in St. Louis. Then, in 2019, he began his current role with National Jewish Health– moving on to become the Director of the ICU at the beginning of the pandemic. “Nine months into starting my career, the world ended. Trying to maneuver something that we had no experience or training in– especially given the intricacies of this pandemic– was really difficult.” Though being forced to approach this new position with a new mentality during a public health crisis was a challenge, Gabriel successfully motivated his teammates and chronicled the severity of the situation for NBC News. “I was able to show people: ‘Hey, this is real. Here’s what this experience is really like in the ICUs. Pay attention and don’t disregard what’s happening.’”
Gabriel is currently in the process of receiving a Master’s in Business Administration from the University of Pennsylvania, keeping himself incredibly busy outside of work. He loves skiing, biking, attending concerts, and enjoying the beautiful Colorado environment, but most of his free time is spent with his 11-month-old child or studying for his courses.
As an undergraduate, Gabriel was a remarkably active member of Sigma Phi Epsilon and the campus community. While fulfilling the roles of Director of Community Service, Director of Intramurals, and Philanthropy Chairman within the chapter, he also frequently volunteered at free health clinics, worked for the Chemistry department as a student assistant, completed research for a local physician working on the rare disease Toxoplasma gondii, and served on the Student Alumni Council.
“Sig Ep was a sense of community for people who wanted more than the average fraternity experience. It was a place for lifelong development and the pursuit of friendships,” Gabriel says of what the chapter means to him. He gives the following advice to any current or future undergraduates in the brotherhood: “Go into it for the right reasons. Go into it for the bonds and the friendships, but also for the personal development to be a better person. But, at the same time, don’t take yourselves too seriously.”