Whenever President-elect Joe Biden refers to his wife Jill, he says that teaching
"isn't what she does, it is what it is
.
"
In fact, his speech at the Democratic National Convention was delivered from a classroom at Brandwyine High School in his hometown of Wilmington, where he taught English in the early 1990s.
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Her past experiences, both as an educator and in the White House as a second lady, give us clues as to what kind of first lady she will be, what initiatives she is likely to take, and what causes she will champion.
The education
An educator for 36 years, with two master's degrees and a doctorate in education, Jill Biden continued to teach at a
community college
, a two-year university, in Northern Virginia while her husband served as vice president during Barack Obama's term from 2009 to 2017. And he has said that he intends to continue to do so after moving to the White House.
Jill Biden, wife of President-elect Joe Biden, speaks during a "back to school" tour at Shortlidge Academy in Wilmington, Delaware, USA, on September 1, 2020. REUTERS / Kevin Lamarque
During the campaign, Joe Biden remarked several times how particularly important teaching has been to her.
"He gives 100% of his energy to the students,"
said Yvette Lewis, one of his students.
Jill taught English and reading in high schools for 13 years, and also taught emotionally disabled teens in a psychiatric hospital.
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On teaching at a
community college,
Jill said she felt it could have a differentiating effect on the lives of her students.
"I love that population. I feel really comfortable.
I love the women who go back to school and get their degrees, because they are very focused on their goal," she
said.
In May 2009, Obama announced that Jill would be in charge of an initiative to raise awareness of the value of
community colleges.
During her husband's election campaign in 2008, she continued to teach on weekdays and joined him on weekends.
Before that, in 2007, he helped found Book Buddies, a body that provides books for low-income children.
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Health and women
Jill is also president of the Biden Breast Health Initiative, a non-profit organization founded in 1993 that offers free breast health awareness education programs to schools and other groups in the state of Delaware.
For 15 years, the association provided information to more than 7,000 high school girls.
This could also be one of the causes that she takes.
Her plans as first lady
As she explained in an exclusive interview with Noticias Telemundo, she will give priority to issues such as:
Financial, educational and health care aid for military families, just as he did with former first lady Michelle Obama.
Biden's son Beau, who died in 2015 from brain cancer, had been in the Army, and Jill championed causes that help military families, and particularly the mothers of soldiers.
The universal expansion of preschool programs
Propose a plan to make tuition free at
community colleges
Fighting food insecurity
"It is something we have to address immediately, because this is the US, and people do not expect our children to go hungry," he emphasized.
Jill said she well understands the concerns of American families
who, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, have faced quarantines and virtual classes with their children, but her husband has a plan for the “responsible reopening” of schools and schools. business.
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Jill Biden, wife of Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden, during a campaign rally in Kissimmee, Florida;
on November 1, 2020 Courtesy of Biden's campaign
The promise of immigration reform
Jill affirmed in an interview with Noticias Telemundo that, with her husband in the White House, Latinos "will have a place at the table"
Asked why Latinos should believe in Joe Biden's promise to promote immigration reform - a task that the country has dragged on for decades - Jill acknowledged that
"it has taken too long",
but that this "is a large part of the platform ”of the Democratic candidate.
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“He believes that people should have a path to citizenship and he wants to protect the
Dreamers
, whom I have taught.
I hope that Latinos meet my husband and know that this will be a new day ”, he stressed.
Health care, the economy, and immigration reform are among the most pressing issues for the Hispanic electorate.
With information from NBC News.