When new student trustee Kat Cammack isn't working on student government issues or studying, she’s often fishing.

The Metro State Board of Trustees’ newest student representative, Kathryn “Kat” Cammack, hopes to bring a fresh—and global—perspective to the group.

Last year, Cammack, a senior international business and international relations major from Castle Rock, Colo., circled the globe and visited 15 countries as part of the University of Virginia’s “Semester at Sea” program.

“I got a lot of great ideas for how to make our campus better, from students and faculty from all around the world,” Cammack says. “Metro currently has a very large international student body and I see that as an advantage for Metro. I understand the need for diversity and how it can be used to Metro’s advantage.”

Cammack, who was elected to the board for the 2010-2011 school year, says she’d like to see Metro State partner with universities abroad to expand the school’s role in higher education globally.

“A worldly perspective is necessary to better understand the bigger picture. If anything, my trips confirmed to me that our world is getting increasingly smaller and globalization is something that affects us all.”

Cammack, also a Metro State cheerleader, first became interested in travel as a youngster. “My mom passed the travel bug along to my sister and me … We’d take trips to Puerto Vallarta and end up becoming more like locals than tourists. But I loved the feeling of coming home to the United States. Traveling has really made me appreciate and value the United States and the things that I have here at home.”

As the assistant director of public relations for Metro State’s Student Government Assembly, Cammack is spearheading a new “student action task force” designed to get more students involved in student government work and special events.

She says she’ll also work to encourage students to be more informed on College budget matters and add greater transparency to the board’s work in general.

When Cammack isn't working on student government issues or studying, she’s often fishing (she’s president of the Metro State Bass Fishing Club). The biggest bass she’s ever hauled in? A five pounder in Dallas, Texas, at the College Bass Championships.

“It’s not very big, but I have a feeling this summer is the year for me to pull out an eight or nine pounder, hopefully.”