Jill Biden says she is closing the book on teaching at Northern Virginia Community College

WASHINGTON (AP) — Jill Biden is closing the book on her teaching career at a Virginia community college.

The first lady, who has taught in classrooms for 40 years, announced Monday that she had taught her final class ever at Northern Virginia Community College in Alexandria. The surprise announcement came during a virtual “thank you” event with teachers tuning in from around the country.

“Being your first lady has been the honor of my life. But being your colleague has been the work of my life,” she said. “Last Thursday, I taught my last class of the semester and my final class ever at Northern Virginia Community College.”

“I will always love this profession, which is why I continued to teach full time while serving as your first lady,” said Jill Biden, who has taught English and writing at NOVA for 15 years. She was the first woman to continue her professional career outside the White House while serving the United States as first lady.

The announcement comes as she and President Joe Biden are preparing to leave the White House in a little over five weeks after the Democrat dropped his bid for reelection after he performed poorly in a debate against Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump over the summer.

Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris succeeded Biden on the ticket, but lost the presidential race to Trump, who is set to be inaugurated to a second term on Jan. 20.

Jill Biden started teaching English and writing at Northern Virginia Community College in 2009 after Barack Obama and Joe Biden were elected president and vice president. She continued to teach there after he left office in 2017, riding the train down from their home in Delaware.

She often said, “teaching isn’t what I do, it’s who I am.”

Darlene Superville, The Associated Press