First Lady Jill Biden, a longtime educator, announced Monday in an address to educators that she had taught her final class at Northern Virginia Community College.
“Being your First Lady has been the honor of my life. But being your colleague has been the work of my life,” Biden said. “Last Thursday, I taught my last class of the semester, and my final class ever at Northern Virginia Community College.”
Biden taught English and writing at NOVA for 15 years, The Associated Press reported, and remained in her position throughout the duration of her role at the White House. She was the first first lady to keep her full-time profession outside of the White House.
“I will always love this profession, which is why I continued to teach full-time while serving as your First Lady. And I couldn’t have done it without the love and support of fellow educators.”
Biden, now 73, began teaching at NOVA in 2009, when Joe Biden took office as vice president to Barack Obama. Before NOVA, she worked at Delaware Technical Community College.
It was not clear whether Biden is retiring from teaching altogether, or just from NOVA.
In her time as first lady, Biden has advocated for educators, including at a Teacher of the Year state dinner in May.
“Over the last four years, we’ve built an even stronger education system in this country — and it took all of us,” Biden said. “Because policies don’t work unless we implement them in our classrooms. And our schools don’t transform lives without educators who are dedicated to this calling.”
Feature image, Official White House photo by Adam Schultz
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