First lady Jill Biden to community college grads: Erie doesn't do 'can't'

First lady Jill Biden encouraged more than 80 graduates of the Erie County Community College to ignore people who tell them they "can't" and pursue their dreams anyway, while also advocating for one of President Joe Biden's key educational initiatives — two years of free community college — during a commencement address Saturday in the bellwether county.

Biden, 72, addressed approximately 600 people as the keynote speaker for the college's second graduating class, fulfilling a commitment she made nearly four years ago to monitor the development of the new college.

2020: Jill Biden talks community college education with virtual Erie audience

Biden, a community college professor, recalled being "crushed" by a high school guidance counselor who told her she shouldn't go to college because it would be a waste of her time.

She spent 15 years not only getting her undergraduate degree, but also earning two master's degrees and a doctorate while raising three children, working full-time and attending school at night.

"And at 55, I walked across my last graduation stage," she said. "I really wanted to call that damn guidance counselor to tell him I just got my doctorate."

Biden said local officials who set out to establish the college, despite years of hurdles, summoned the same resolve she and members of the college's second graduating class had shown. "When people told you that this city is too small or it will be too hard to start a new school, you fought for one anyway, because Erie doesn’t do 'can’t,'" Biden said. "And four years ago, with the pandemic raging, before classes had started or students had enrolled, I joined leaders here — some of whom are with us today — to talk about the promise ahead.

"I told you that community colleges change lives," Biden continued. "And graduates, you have made that promise real, one paper, one project, one credit — one job offer — at a time. A few years ago, this community took a leap. And, graduates, you rose to the challenge. You stepped onto this campus for the first time – and look at what you’ve accomplished."

Biden, who has more than 30 years of teaching experience, has been a professor at Northern Virginia Community College since 2009 and has continued to teach English and writing during her husband's presidency.

"I teach at a community college for the same reason students go to community colleges," she said. "They’re flexible and meet people where they are. And, as my husband, President Biden, says, they provide the 'best career training in America.'”

The Pennsylvania Board of Education created the Erie County Community College in June 2020 after years of failed attempts by local officials, who believed the school was critical to reviving a depressed manufacturing base. It was the first community college to be established under the state system in more than 25 years.

Jill Biden spoke with Erie leaders that fall in a virtual roundtable, outlining her husband's key educational initiatives, including a plan to provide two years of tuition-free community college education to all students. Biden, however, has not met that goal as he's faced opposition from Republicans, including a GOP-controlled House.

In March, the president again proposed free community college tuition as part of his $7.3 trillion fiscal 2025 budget.

Jill Biden echoed her husband's policy goal during Saturday's commencement speech: "Community colleges should be free," she said. "This community knows that. From shipyards to steel mills to healthcare centers, there are jobs here that need workers with the training to fill them."

Campaigns take jabs

While proud family members hooted and hollered as Biden helped award 55 associate degrees and 29 certificates, their raucousness was about the only thing resembling a political rally. With the exception of her plug for free community college, the first lady's speech was void of politics.

Following the event, however, the Pennsylvania for Biden campaign spokesman Jack Doyle issued a statement to the USA TODAY Network.

“Since day one, President Biden and first lady Dr. Biden have fought to make a quality education accessible to all Pennsylvanians, including by strengthening community colleges, ensuring teachers are paid what they’re worth, and lowering costs for families by relieving student debt,” Doyle said.

Doyle said former President Donald Trump would make "massive cuts" to public education and pass a tax cut for wealthy Americans that would require teachers to pay higher taxes than billionaires.

In response, a Republican National Committee spokesperson said Biden has "abysmal" poll numbers with 18-to-34-year-olds in Pennsylvania.

"It’s no wonder why the Biden campaign is gaslighting voters in Biden’s home state," RNC spokeswoman Rachel Lee said in a statement. "Between soaring prices, a war on American energy, and crippling crime, Pennsylvania voters see through dishonest Joe Biden’s desperate lies and will resoundingly support President Trump this November."

Auditor general also plugs community college education

Jill Biden wasn't the only one from the political arena to tout a community college education Saturday.

Pennsylvania Auditor General Timothy DeFoor, a Republican, also addressed graduates, telling them about the adversity he had to overcome on his way to becoming the first person of color to win election to a statewide executive office.

He wouldn't be where he's at today, he said, without the advice of a community college academic advisor.

DeFoor, who was elected in 2020 and is running for a second term this fall, said his parents demanded that he attend college after graduation. But unlike his siblings, who never earned less than a B growing up, DeFoor didn't have the grades to be accepted at a four-year institution. And he continued to struggle academically during his first year at Harrisburg Area Community College.

His academic adviser, a retired police officer, gave him a "tongue lashing" that brought DeFoor to tears, he said.

"As quickly as he broke me down, he built me up," the 62-year-old DeFoor said. "He said to me, 'I believe you can succeed here. I believe you can succeed anywhere, but you first have to believe in yourself and put in the work.'"

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Third visit to Erie County

Saturday was Jill Biden's second trip to Erie County since becoming first lady and her third appearance since the start of the 2020 presidential campaign. On March 3, 2021, she spoke alongside Education Secretary Miguel Cardona at Fort LeBoeuf Middle School in Waterford. She also campaigned in the city of Erie at East Middle School on Nov. 2, 2020, on the eve of the election.

Erie County is among a handful of counties in battleground states that several national political pundits say could decide the election.

She touted her and her husband's Pennsylvania roots Saturday. Jill Biden is from the Philadelphia suburbs of Willow Grove. Joe Biden was born in Scranton.

"We even have a family member — our cat Willow — from a farm not far from here," the first lady said, referring to a farm in Lawrence County. "So, it means so much to come to my home state and be a part of a moment like this one."

After twice supporting President Barack Obama, voters in the northwestern Pennsylvania county backed Trump by a margin of fewer than 2,000 votes in 2016, only to flip and back Biden by fewer than 1,500 votes four years later.

Trump spoke in Erie this past July. President Biden was last here in October 2020.

Matthew Rink can be reached at mrink@timesnews.com or on X at @ETNRink.

This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Jill Biden talks adversity, free community college at PA graduation