With the foundation of a solid college education behind her, Kristina Baskett has managed to parlay her love for gymnastics into a thriving career as a Hollywood stunt performer.

When Jason Hardebeck entered the U.S. Naval Academy in 1983, he wanted to be an F-14 Tomcat fighter jet pilot before moving on to become an astronaut. His dreams to soar were inspired by the newly released Hollywood blockbuster movie Top Gun. But much as Tom Cruise’s character Maverick’s journey didn’t turn out as planned, neither did Hardebeck’s.

When Gen. Raymond Odierno joined the football team at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in 1972, he hadn’t given much thought to a career in the Army. He didn’t come from a military family. He just wanted to play college football.

How do you go from playing college basketball to having the honor of flying Barack Obama on his first flight to Washington, D.C. as president-elect?

Former Wisconsin-La Crosse softball student-athlete Amy Huchthausen has been a front-runner from the get-go; today she is America East Conference’s first female commissioner

Growing up in Merrillville, Indiana, twins Ronda and Rachel Price were good students and solid outside hitters on the volleyball team, though they weren’t sure their athletic careers would extend past high school. Neither of them received much college scouting attention.

Mark Harmon, the Burbank-born star who calls Los Angeles his home, excelled at sports long before he ever got in front of the cameras. He was the quarterback of the UCLA Bruins’ football team during the 1972-73 seasons and graduated in 1974 with a bachelor’s degree in communications. Today he is widely recognized for his achievement in the entertainment industry.