As a bright and ambitious youngster growing up poor in Southside Chicago, Deval L. Patrick won a scholarship to Milton Academy, a private Massachusetts boarding school, courtesy of the acclaimed "A Better Chance" initiative. Attending the prestigious and rigorous prep school altered the course of Patrick's life. He flourished at Milton before going on to earn two degrees from Harvard University, lead civil rights enforcement at the U.S. Department of Justice during the Clinton administration and oversee diversity efforts at a Fortune 500 corporation then under legal scrutiny for racial discrimination. Patrick's educational background, although far from traditional, is a resounding success story. So, it should not come as a surprise that he has strong views about education reform, which he would like to see tested, especially in his adopted state of Massachusetts. This article presents an interview with this 49-year-old African-American attorney, who is currently seeking the Democratic party nomination in the 2006 Massachusetts governor's race. In this interview, Patrick talks about his candidacy, education, the lessons of diversity and the prospects for economic revitalization in Massachusetts.