First Lady to-be Dr. Jill Biden

Saturday made history in the United States as we saw the results of the 2020 election unfold over the course of four days. Vice President-Elect Kamala Harris will be the first Black and South Asian woman to be Vice President. President-Elect Joe Biden received the most number of popular votes in United States history. With a new President-Elect comes a new First-Lady (and someday, we hope, First Husband), and Dr. Jill Biden could also be making her historic mark. 

Since 2009, Dr. Biden has taught English at Northern Virginia Community College, a school in Annandale, Virginia. She kept this position during her time as Second Lady from 2008 - 2016. She has worked as an educator for the past three decades and doesn’t have any plans to stop. Telling CBS Sunday Morning in an August interview, "If we get to the White House, I'm gonna continue to teach.” Dr. Biden goes on to say, "It's important, and I want people to value teachers and know their contributions, and lift up the profession."

If Dr. Biden upholds this statement, it will make her the “First” First Lady to work a salaried job while her husband is in the Oval Office. That feat is impressive in itself but to make it even more so - she will be the first to hold a doctorate degree. 

Her commitment to her career is inspiring. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and the impact of racial injustice on BIPOC women, we are in a time where more women than ever (1 in 4, actually) are “contemplating what many would have considered unthinkable less than a year ago: downshifting their careers or leaving the workforce”, according to McKinsey’s 2020 Women in the Workplace study.  If Dr. Biden kept working, it would be a great message to all working women everywhere. 

While we may not know what she will choose to do until January 2021, we have no doubt that Dr. Jill Biden will leave behind a positive legacy as her years as First Lady. 

Photo source: @drbiden on Instagram

Sources: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/dr-jill-biden-on-family-teaching-loss-and-levity/, https://womenintheworkplace.com/