Alumni

Katie Drayne Blount
MA, 1990                                   

October 16, 2007
It’s now almost 20 years since I first set foot in Mississippi, as one of the early (unsuspecting) Southern Studies graduate students. I figured I’d be down here for a year or two. . . . As I write, I am sitting in my office at the Mississippi Department of Archives and History, where I have worked for the past 13 years. I am a freelance editor on the side, with Living Blues as a client. My favorite job is wrangling children: Susanna (9) and Charley (7). And I should add that my husband, David, surprised—no, shocked—me a year ago when he mentioned that he was thinking about running for the Mississippi State Senate. Election Day is now just a few days off, and we’re worn out but optimistic. I guess you could say that while I managed to dodge a career in academia, a life in Southern Studies I could not escape. But it’s a good life here—free of many of the pressures of my hometown on the East Coast. I have no regrets so far, but check back with me after the election. Update: David did win the District 29 Mississippi State Senate Seat! Congratulations!