Kathy Cox, the superintendent of schools for Georgia, believes "excellence is not an accident". She made a name for herself by winning $1 million proving she was smarter than a fifth-grader on a popular television show. This article presents a profile of Cox, her family, her role as school superintendent, and her accomplishments. Although she isn't a Georgia native, Cox comes from a long line of Georgia educators. She earned bachelor's and master's degrees in political science from Emory University and is married to John Cox for 23 years and has two teenage sons. Since her election in 2002, Cox has earned complaints and kudos for tackling testing and implementing new curriculum standards and graduation requirements for Georgia. She has also brought more focused and rigorous curriculum changes to the state, and she looks forward to realizing more gains, like the recent rise in ACT scores.