Frostburg State University is the newest member of the Capital Athletic Conference, and one of the top women's distance runners in team history is junior Anne Patron, this week's CAC INTRODUCING ... featured student-athlete. Patron is the school record holder in the 5,000-meter run and earned all-conference and all-region during the 2009 cross country season.

What is your background in the sport you play?  My dad runs, as does my grandmother, and everyone in my family is active.  I started running competitively in high school, and participated in 4 years of indoor track and 3 years of outdoor track.  I picked up cross country as a sophomore in college – I was a soccer player throughout my youth and high school days, and played soccer as a freshman in college, but after some success on the track as a freshman in college, I became interested in running cross country and now run all year round.  I love it.

What is your favorite spot on campus?  Frostburg is very pretty – there are a lot of places on campus that are quite picturesque and really highlight the beauty of the environment.  My favorite is probably the arboretum; there is a trail to walk through and a nice little stream.  It’s quite relaxing.

Other than your team, what organization (s) do you participate in?  I am a representative on the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, an instructor for the developmental math program, and I’m a group and individual tutor for the tutoring center.  I try to be involved with many different activities and organizations as my schedule will allow.

Briefly describe the most memorable experience during your collegiate athletic career.  Frostburg hosted the Mason Dixon outdoor conference meet a few years ago, and the FSU women’s side ended up winning the team title.  We hadn’t won this meet in years and we won by one point.  It was one of those meets where everyone’s race mattered – if someone had placed a spot lower or not placed at all, etc. then we would not have won.  The energy and teamwork that showed through that day was insane.

What is the most important societal issue facing college students?  The most important issue we face is health insurance.  I know I have health insurance until age 25, as long as I’m in enrolled in school, but after that, things are up in the air.  Health insurance gets so confusing and expensive, and it’s hard to figure out just exactly what kind of coverage you need or want.  So many people live without insurance … it seems a little unnerving to me.  Besides health insurance, the natural (fear) issue of finding a job post-college and figuring out how to pay the bills from college and the new bills from the real world.

If you could change any one item in the world (in your personal life, school, community, amateur or professional sports, national/international issue, etc.), what would it be, why, and how would you do it?  I’d like world peace.  But really, besides world peace, I would try to level the playing field in terms of women and men – fight and find more gender equality.  For instance, this might involve changing the distance of college cross country races, so that both men and women run the same distance – men and women run the same distances in high school cross country, why not college?

What is your major in college, and what is the most important thing you learned in that discipline?  My major is exercise and sport science, with minors in psychology and Spanish.  I have learned a lot in terms of helping people and reinforcing desires I have to live a healthy lifestyle and teach others to do the same.  It’s hard to name only one thing that I consider important that I learned from my major, but learning about the body has opened doors to higher understanding of applied disciplines.  How the body responds to exercise, stress, and other stimuli influences how professionals can better attend to the individual needs of society.

Other than your family members, who was the most influential person in your life?  At this point in life, I’ve had at least two amazing coaches – one in high school (Chad Boyle) and one in college (Randy Lowe).  These two coaches believed in me more than I did in myself and we had (and still have) this trusting relationship for which I can talk to them about anything.  They are each more than coaches to me at this point, they’re friends.

If you could give one piece of advice to elementary school children, what would that advice be?  Stay innocent.  Have fun.  Don’t take yourself so seriously.  And don’t get sucked into all of the technology that is in the world nowadays!  (Ok, I guess that was more than one piece of advice …)

What is your favorite form of entertainment?  I like to read and listen to music, although if we’re looking at ANY kind of entertainment, I might have to admit that I thoroughly enjoy people-watching.  I am very curious about other people and how they live, what they think, etc. so watching as a third-party observer is fascinating.

Outside of the Capital Athletic Conference, who or what is your favorite sports person or team?  I’m not sure I have a “favorite”.  I admire most elite runners (especially distance runners, as that is what I also do), but I am also partial to most soccer players.  I like rooting for the underdog and those that come across as humble.  I am in awe of many elite athletes as the dedication and commitment, for any sport, is taxing – to be able to see their efforts in action is awesome and quite motivating.

Name three (3) people, real or fictional, living or dead, that you'd like to have dinner with?  I’d like to have dinner with Jane Austen, Shakira and Billie Jean King.  These three people represent three strong independent women who have each made a difference in society, whether it is via the written word, music and humanitarian efforts, or the world of sports.  It’s people like these, women especially, who remind me what life is all about – equality and the pursuit of happiness for all.