Our New Second Lady

Last night I sent a message of congratulations through the White House website (http://www.whitehouse.com/) to Dr. Jill Biden on her decision to teach at a community college in the D.C. area as opposed to taking a position at a more prestigious institution there. I think this is great. Jill has been an educator for the past 25 years, 15 of which have been teaching English at a community college in Delaware. (A bio of Jill is at: http://www.whitehouse.gov/administration/jill_biden/)

I am so pleased that she sees as I do the importance for our society of community college educating. I have only been teaching as an adjunct instructor for one semester at Tidewater Community College, but have become totally committed to it. TCC is a great institution, educating almost 40,000 students, or 46% of all college students in the Tidewater/Hampton Roads area. The students, many of whom are also holding down full or part-time jobs, are in the classroom because the want an education.

I also love that in recent TV adds, TCC has college presidents from the four year public schools, from William and Mary in nearby Williamsburg, to Virginia Tech and University of Virginia, saying how glad they are to receive TCC graduates. Education is the key to both workforce development, personal fulfillment and an educated, prepared citizenry.

My experience at the Eleanor Roosevelt Center at Val-Kill, where I met such former First Ladies as Hillary Clinton, Leah Rabin, Queen Noor of Jordan and the First Lady of Brazil, Dr. Cardoso, have heightened my appreciation of the work that First Ladies do in the leadership of the country. It looks like we are going to have not only a great First Lady in Michelle Obama, but also a great "Second Lady" in Jill Biden. And it does not bother me that she let the cat out of the bag on Oprah. Hey, we are all human, and it makes us more charming to be so.