Our students do amazing things in and out of the classrooms. Here is a Mason story about one of my undergraduate students, Brandon Krzynefski. Not only did he represent the US honorably and bring home an Olympic Bronze medal, he also caught up with two weeks worth of course materials at the end of November and successfully passed his courses. I am biased but I'd say the latter is harder than getting an Olympic medal.
Before his trip, I remember laughing when he forwarded a letter directly from the United States Olympic Committee, "This letter is to serve as a formal request to excuse the following individuals [.....] for the [World Championships]". What am I going to say? "No, he's not excused" :)
