Two-year-old Zaara Burnett was far from the calmest ballerina in her class. Always jumping and tumbling about, it was impossible for Burnett to contain her active limbs and it didn’t take long for her coach to realize that she needed to do a sport that better complemented her enthusiastic personality. Fifteen years later, on Feb. 3, Burnett announced her commitment to Ohio State University for gymnastics, making her the first person at this school from the class of 2026 to do so for any sport.
Like young girls across the country, when Burnett was two years old her mother put her into ballet, and even at that young age, her coach could tell she was a better fit for gymnastics. Her coach said she was, “too energetic and would be better flipping around,” Burnett said.
Before she knew it, Burnett fell in love with gymnastics.
Through her childhood Burnett lived in five different states. Despite constant changes in her environment, one constant in her life was gymnastics. Whether she was living in Hawaii, Virginia, Florida, California or Maryland, Burnett kept her love for the sport close and trained tirelessly to achieve all that she has.
Gymnastics, like other sports, is difficult to get recruited for, especially for a division one school like Ohio State University. The recruitment process began in June of last year and Burnett admits it has been a journey filled with highs and lows. Despite her determination to get recruited to one of her top choices like Ohio State, she acknowledges that she didn’t feel like she was getting anywhere at first. “I started sending emails to all the coaches that I would be interested in and I have a gymnastics page on Instagram where I follow the coaches and update my progress,” Burnett said.
Last November that all changed. Burnett’s gymnastics coach informed her that the OSU coach reached out to him asking about her. She then kept in touch with them, emailing and having Zoom meetings with the coaches. While she was still talking to other schools, she had her heart set on Ohio State and gave them most of her attention.
In February Burnett was called to campus for an official visit and was surprised with a complete gymnastics scholarship. “The recruiting process for gymnastics is super cutthroat, and it just feels like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders now that I committed junior because senior year I won’t have to worry about it,” Burnett said.
As a division one school, Ohio State has a distinguished reputation for athletics, but they are also recognized for their impressive academics. Aspiring athletes must maintain a 3.5 unweighted GPA, and score around a 1340 on the SAT in order to be recruited by OSU. As an overachiever in the gym and at school, Burnett kept in contact with the coaches at OSU to prove that she was meeting their academic requirements.
Her favorite class is photography because she loves the way her teacher inflicts joy in her and expresses herself through photos. “As a student, Zaara is exceptionally determined and committed to being successful. She works well with the other students in the class and I think her ability to communicate effectively speaks to her maturity,” photography teacher Afua Kyeremeh said.
Being a student-athlete is hard, meaning it doesn’t leave much leisure time available. Burnett spends about 20-27 hours a week doing gymnastics, and when she isn’t doing homework or her sport, she likes to do more relaxing activities in her free time. On top of hanging out with her two sisters and brother, she spends extra time at the gym with her dad, bakes pastries, and does her nails. “My favorite thing to do with Zaara is during the summer we go to the pool almost every other day, if not more than that, we tan, eat snacks, push each other in the pool and both our families come together and we have weekly reunions,” Burnett’s friend junior Ruth Bayou said.
Burnett’s journey has taught her a lot. She said she has learned that young athletes should, “Keep it pushing. It’s going to get hard and there’s going to be times where you don’t want to do your sport, but you have to remember why you started and why you got this far because there will come a time where it all just comes together and you realize that all your hard work paid off,” Burnett said.
