First Lady Jill Biden revealed on Monday that she is leaving her teaching position at Northern Virginia Community College.
“Last Thursday, I taught my last class of the semester, and my final class ever at Northern Virginia Community College,” Biden remarked during a virtual teacher appreciation event. “I will always love this profession, which is why I continued to teach full-time while serving as your first lady.”
The decision comes as she prepared to leave the White House, after President Joe Biden’s announcement that he will cease his reelection campaign in July and former President Donald Trump’s election victory.
The virtual address to teachers resembled her first formal engagement as first lady in 2021, when she spoke alongside National Education Association President Becky Pringle and American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten.
“I trust that you know you have left a legacy that won’t end as you leave the people’s house,” Mr. Pringle remarked. “You’ll continue to do work because, let me tell you, I know I, for one, I’ll be reaching out.”
Jill Biden first FLOTUS to continue career during White House role
Biden made history by being the first FLOTUS in the role’s 231-year history to continue working while serving as first lady in the White House.
She holds four degrees, including two master’s and a doctorate in teaching. Her pupils referred to her as “Dr. B,” and she taught while serving as second lady during the Obama administration. She previously told Vogue that she would have her Secret Service members masquerade up as college students to avoid disrupting her classes.
Coming into the role, she was ready to demonstrate that FLOTUS could be whatever she wanted it to be.
“Teaching is not what I do,” Biden wrote ahead of the Democratic National Convention in 2020. “It’s who I am.”