Burks developed an interest in forensic chemistry when she was 12 after a field trip that presented students with a science interaction challenge, asking students to solve a real-world problem using science. Burks earned her BS in chemistry at the University of Northern Iowa, her MSc in Forensic Science at Nebraska Wesleyan University, her PhD in chemistry from the University of Nebraska - Lincoln, and was a postdoctoral research associate at the Doane College.