Dr. Jill Biden.Photo: JIM WATSON/Getty
First LadyJill Bidenpaid a visit to the competitors in the Scripps National Spelling Bee on Thursday, telling the young spellers that she understood firsthand the nerves they were likely experiencing.
“In sixth grade I was my school’s spelling bee champion,” Dr. Biden, 70, shared in opening remarks delivered ahead of the competition. “I had a chance to go to the next level, but on the day of the regional competition, I told my mother that I was sick. The truth was that I was too nervous to go, so I have incredible admiration for each and every one of you.”
In an interview with ESPN 2, the first lady elaborated on her own history with spelling competitions, saying she “was too scared to get up in front of everybody. These kids have so much courage and I really admire them.”
Speaking to the young spellers and their family members, Biden said that she wanted to attend the event — held atWalt Disney World’s ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Lake Buena Vista, Florida — in-person, “to tell you that the president and I are so proud of all that you’ve accomplished.”
Prior to her remarks, Dr. Biden met separately with the finalists and their families privately, according to a White House press pool report.
A longtime educator, Dr. Biden returned to teaching this spring after taking the fall off to focus on the 2020 campaign. She is the first first lady to maintain a full-time job while carrying out her White House duties.
“It’s important,” shesaid last year, upon announcing her intention to continue teaching English as she has done for decades. “I want people to value teachers and know their contributions and lift up their profession.”
Since her husband has been in office, she has also acted as an advocate for education, visiting schools around the country and speaking about her duel roles.
During acommunity college tourin Dixon, Illinois, in April, Dr. Biden said to reporters: “Most people now call me first lady. But to one group of Northern Virginia Community College [students], I am first, foremost and forever their writing professor: Dr. B.”
As the 2020 Scripps National Spelling Bee was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this year’s competition was extra special for its 11 finalists.
Zaila is the first Black American student to be crowned the champion in the bee’s nearly century-long history, as well as the first winner from Louisiana.
Chatting with PEOPLE after her win, she said, “I want to inspire everybody, especiallyAfrican American girls.”
source: people.com
