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Dr. Jill Bidenis opening up about one of the most memorable moments in her teaching career.
The first lady, 70, who has continued to teach since making the move to the White House with her husband,President Joe Biden, toldGoodHousekeepingthat her students were there for her during an especially difficult time in her personal life: when her sister was undergoing cancer treatment.
“A few years ago, I had to tell my class that I would miss the next session for personal reasons. Now, my students have never suffered from a lack of curiosity. So, they immediately began shouting, ‘Dr. B, Dr. B, where’re you going?,’ " she recalled. “My sister was having the first of her cancer treatments, and she would be in a hospital room for six weeks.”
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She added, “Until that moment, I didn’t realize how much I was struggling, or how much I needed their strength. I recognized then that this community of students was my family too.”
Dr. Biden, who works with community college students, toldGood Housekeepingthat the most rewarding part of her job is “helping students find their confidence and begin to use their voices, or seeing that spark light up in their eyes the moment a concept falls into place.”
Describing her work as “deeply rewarding,” she continued, “My students work incredibly hard to make it to class, often between work and raising families. They want to learn.
“They bring diverse perspectives to our studies – of travels and jobs and families and challenges they’ve had to overcome,” she said. “It is such an honor to be the person to walk them through their studies, to give them the key that could unlock something life-changing.”
First Lady Dr. Jill Biden.
Dr. Biden has worked as an educator for decades, and made history this year as the first first lady to maintain a job while also working in the East Wing. “I want people to value teachers and know their contributions and lift up their profession,“she saidlast year.
While she took last fall off to join her husband in his presidential campaign, Dr. Biden was back in the classroom in the spring.
“Most people now call me first lady. But to one group of Northern Virginia Community College [students], I am first, foremost and forever their writing professor: Dr. B,” she told the crowd during acommunity college tourin Dixon, Illinois, in April.
Throughout her time as first lady, Dr. Biden has dedicated time and effort to uplifting educators, especially through the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. In January, shehosted a virtual eventin honor of teachers.
“I have never felt prouder of our profession,” Dr. Biden said at the time. “In this pandemic, educators have shown a heroic commitment to their students. So, on behalf of a grateful nation, thank you. You have been so strong. And now it’s time for us to be strong for you.”
source: people.com
