Jamie Lyn: An academic, athletic standout




By Susan Palmes-Dennis

Rockingham, North Carolina---For my next feature on Filipino-American youths finding success despite  the COVID-19 pandemic, I bring you Jamie Lyn Burgess, who’s enjoying a beautiful summer after a fruitful school year 2020-2021.

Jamie is responsible, obedient and respectful for an only child.  She loves gymnastics and shows signs of being a great gymnast at an early age. I couldn’t blame her for taking to gymnastics especially when she hits that great routine. Gymnastics is that sport in which a quitter never wins and a winner never quits. No pain, no gain so to speak. 

Jamie is a 10-year-old 4th Grade student with a truckload of talents. She loves Harry Potter books , she can play the piano and sing as well as her mama Emelyn Burgess or ‘Em-Em’ to her friends. 

‘Em-Em’ sat on the 2019 board of the Filipino-American Community of the Carolinas Inc. (FACC) and hails from Dumaguete City. Em-Em used to be the lead vocalist in a family band based in Singapore. 

Jamie also loves to eat popcorn and brownies and drinks at Starbucks. Her favorite Filipino dish is lumpiang Shanghai (egg rolls) and rice. Jamie started gymnastics at three years old and remains as active as ever. 

I would see photos of her practicing or competing in my Facebook news feed since I’m a follower. She officially joined gymnastics competition this year at Silver Level aged nine to 10 years old. 

Her mom recalled that she and her husband introduced Jaime to other sports like soccer, volleyball and swimming but Jamie eventually chose gymnastics since she felt it best suited her.

A casual list of her accomplishments and the events she competed in are as follows:

Jan 2 - Frostbite Invite 

#1st place, Floor and Balance Beam event 

#1st place all around. 

Jan 22- Think Pink—

#6th Place All Around 

Feb 6 - Judges Cup Virtual Meet 

#1st Place Floor 

#3rd All Around 

Feb 12- Lover Leap 

#1st Place Floor , Balance Beam , Vault 

#1st Place All Around 

Feb 19 - Lucky Charm 

#1st Place Floor 

#2nd All Around 

Feb 27 - KPAC Tri-Meet 

#4th Place All Around 

March 5 - Everest Classic 

#1st Place Floor 

#2nd place Balance Beam and Vault 

#2nd Place All Around 

April 10 - SILVER STATES 

#5th Place “

During the States meet, Jamie was one of the Top 100 gymnasts in North Carolina and she qualified for the Regionals in Kennesaw, Georgia. 

It was learned that only five girls qualified to compete from her gym. Last May 2 at the Silver Regionals, Jamie became Floor champion and landed sixth place in the All Around category.  

Jamie is also a standout in her class as her teachers would attest to, having shown high academic potential through her grades. For her consistency and hard work,  Jamie can go a very long way in terms of personal success. All hail to Jamie Lyn Burgess, the next Simone Biles.


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