WASHINGTON — Jill Biden has officially ended her teaching career at a Virginia community college.
The First Lady, who has dedicated 40 years to education, revealed on Monday that she taught her last class at Northern Virginia Community College the previous week. This unexpected announcement was made during a virtual appreciation event where educators from across the nation gathered.
“It has been the greatest honor of my life to serve as your First Lady, but being a colleague in the classroom has been my true calling,” she stated. “Last Thursday marked my final class of the semester and my ultimate class at Northern Virginia Community College.”
“I will always hold this profession dearly, which is why I maintained full-time teaching while serving in my role as First Lady,” Biden expressed. During her announcement, she was joined by prominent leaders from teachers’ unions, including Randi Weingarten of the American Federation of Teachers and Becky Pringle of the National Education Association, who sat with her on a sofa.
Biden had been teaching English and writing at NOVA for 15 years, becoming the first First Lady to carry on a professional career while in office.
This moment comes as Jill and President Joe Biden are preparing to exit the White House in approximately five weeks, following the announcement that he has dropped his reelection campaign after a disappointing debate performance against Republican challenger Donald Trump during the summer.
After Kamala Harris succeeded Biden as Vice President, she also faced defeat in the presidential race against Trump, who is poised to take his oath for a second term on January 20.
At this point, it remains uncertain if the 73-year-old Jill Biden is fully retiring from her teaching career. Aides did not provide any immediate update regarding her future plans.
Anne Kress, the president of Northern Virginia Community College, acknowledged Biden’s outstanding contributions as a faculty member, citing her as both respected and beloved by her students and peers.
“As she concludes her exemplary career, she leaves an indelible mark on the lives of those she has taught, guided, and inspired throughout the years,” Kress commented in a statement released on Tuesday. “She has been an incredible, unparalleled advocate for America’s community colleges, and we trust that her passion for education will persist.”
Jill Biden began teaching English and writing at the college in 2009 after Barack Obama and Joe Biden were elected to the presidency and vice presidency, respectively. She continued her teaching role even after Joe Biden’s vice presidency ended in 2017, commuting by train from Delaware.
Prior to her time at NOVA, she was also an English and writing instructor at Delaware Technical Community College.
Her teaching career commenced in 1976 at a high school in Wilmington, Delaware, where she taught English before taking on the role of reading specialist at another school. Additionally, she taught English at a psychiatric hospital while pursuing her second master’s degree and holds a doctorate in educational leadership.
She often reiterated, “Teaching isn’t merely what I do; it defines who I am.”
