We’ve all heard and seen a lot about Joe Biden over the past few months, but how much do we know about his wife, the first lady of America, Dr. Jill Biden? It’s very common for first ladies to be overlooked, because, well, for a lot of people, they’re the presidents’ wives, not the president themselves.
But it’s important to understand just how integral a first lady’s role can be for social reform. So let’s take a deeper look at who Jill Biden is.
1. She has two master’s degrees and a doctoral degree.
Jill Biden finished her Master of Education with a focus in reading from West Chester State College while she was pregnant with her daughter, Ashley. After which she completed a Masters of Arts in English from Villanova, and in 2007 at the age of 55, she received her Doctoral of Education in educational leadership from the University of Delaware.
2. Jill Biden continued with her career and passion even as the Second Lady.
Throughout the eight years of her serving as the Second Lady of America, she was still very committed to her career and taught English at Northern Virginia Community College. Jill Biden also worked towards forming policies for military families, in fact, she and Michelle Obama worked on doing so together!
Not to mention the fact that she plans on continuing her teaching career even while being a First Lady, so she’ll be the first salaried First Lady of America.
3. She’s a published author.
Jill Biden published her first book, Don’t Forget, God Bless Our Troops in June 2012. The children’s book is told from the perspective of Biden’s granddaughter, Natalie, when her father is deployed to Iraq. Her second book, Joey: The Story of Joe Biden , is a picture book about her husband as a young boy, and includes “never before told family stories about the presidential candidate.”
4. She is funny and has quite the sense of humour.
Jill Biden is known to be a bit of a prankster, and someone who has a witty sense of humour. Her granddaughter Naomi also seems to think so, “She’s a prankster, she’s very mischievous . When she goes on a run, sometimes she’ll find, like, a dead snake and she’ll pick it up and put it in a bag, and she’ll use it to scare someone.”
Back in 2008, during the campaign cycle, she had also placed a plastic rat on Joe’s podium and then used the same plastic rat to greet her husband when he attempted to lay down on his pillow that night.
5. She is an ardent marathon runner.
Jill Biden started running in the 1990s, specifically when she took part in a Komen Race for the Cure. Her workout includes five five-mile runs throughout the week, along with some strength training. She has also finished the 1998 Marine Corps Marathon and has done several half-marathons and 10-mile races, too.
6. She’s passionate about community college education.
Jill Biden has always advocated how important community college education is. Her White House bio says that she sees community colleges as “one of America’s best-kept secrets.” During her husband’s time in office, she frequently visited campuses and met with students, teachers, and industry representatives.
7. She’s straightforward and gets right to the point.
Whenever Jill Biden posts on Instagram, she keeps her captions short, sweet, and to the point. Nothing over the top, and direct to a T.
8. She is passionate about working towards breast cancer prevention.
Jill has been known to also work towards raising awareness around breast cancer prevention. In 1993, after four of her friends were diagnosed with breast cancer, she started the Biden Breast Health Initiative in Delaware, which has educated more than 10,000 high school girls about the importance of early detection of breast cancer. Her vision for it’s prevention also includes greater medical research.
9. Joe and her hit it off on their first date.
Joe Biden and Jill first met in 1975, Joe had lost both his wife, Neilia Biden, and his 1-year-old daughter, Naomi three years earlier in a car accident. Jill, meanwhile, was a senior at the University of Delaware, just about to graduate. It was Joe’s brother Frank who introduced the pair.
Source: Scoop Woop
