First Lady Jill Biden returned to her birth state of New Jersey on Thursday for a visit to Bergen Community College in Paramus.
She was with Education Secretary Miguel Cardona for an announcement of $198 million in new federal funding for colleges and universities around the country to provide more support to students during the pandemic.
Biden, who was born in Hammonton and spent part of her childhood in Mahwah before moving with her family to Philadelphia, said at the event that being back in the Garden State made her feel like she was at home.
“I feel really at home,” Biden, 70, said at the event (via NJ.com).
She has spent nearly 30 years as a community college English professor, and still teaches at Northern Virginia Community College—so it was fitting that she came to Bergen Community College to make the announcement. Biden, who toured the college with Cardona, said it was a model for helping students, with its childcare program and counseling services.
“For parents, especially moms, childcare makes graduation possible,” said the first lady, according to NJ.com. “It’s the difference between struggling just to stay afloat and climbing into a better life.”
President Joe Biden, meanwhile, was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania, and lived with Jill and their family in Delaware for years before the couple made the move to the White House in 2021.