I was born on May 4, 1954, in Belzoni, Mississippi, to Buel and Evelyn Ballou.  My sister, Ree, was born when I was two years old.  My family has always been an important part of my life and it still is.

My education began with kindergarten at First Baptist Church in Belzoni.  I continued my education in the public schools of Belzoni through the eighth grade when my family moved to Jackson, Mississippi.  I completed the ninth grade at Hardy Junior High School and graduated from Callaway High School in 1972.

My early college days were spent getting a degree in "Party 101".  After my freshman year, spent at Abilene Christian University and Delta State University, I settled down, slightly, and graduated from Mississippi Delta Community College with an Associate of Arts degree in Liberal Arts.  I attended college for two additional semesters over the next twenty-five years.  I enrolled at Alcorn State University in July, 2001 for the fall semester to begin working toward a Bachelor's degree in Elementary Education.  My expected graduation date is May, 2003.  I would like to continue my education at Alcorn and work toward a Master's degree. 

My work experience is quite diverse.  I have worked as an insurance clerk in a hospital, lingerie sales clerk in a department store, a waitress, a youth director for a church, a music director, a real estate agent, a retail store manager, a child support enforcement officer and a fraud investigator for the Mississippi Department of Human Services.  Presently, I teach twenty-one piano and voice students weekly.  I hope to begin teaching in the Vicksburg Warren School District this fall. 

I am married to John Burnworth, a structural engineer with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.  We have one son, Barrett.  Barrett is sixteen years old.  He is an honor student and plays soccer for Warren Central High School.  We have a home in Vicksburg that we share with our dogs Nuggett, Chopin, and Bach.