I worked with Dr. Jill Biden when I was a community college student. Her degree is more than a title - it's inspiration for the women and underrepresented students she teaches.
- Nazila Jamshidi is a graduate student at Georgetown University and an alumnus of Northern Virginia Community College (NOVA) where Dr. Jill Biden has been teaching in 2009.
- At NOVA, Jamshidi worked with Dr. Biden on women's empowerment initiatives and says Biden's title of doctor served as an inspiration to her and other students to aim high with their educational goals.
- By calling the First Lady elect with her proper, earned title of doctor, Jamshidi says more young women and students at community colleges will be inspired to overcome their circumstances and understand that their education is something no one can discredit.
In my two years at Northern Virginia Community College, also known as NOVA, I had the pleasure of working with Dr. Jill Biden on multiple women's empowerment initiatives through the college's Alexandria's Jean Braden Center for Women, Gender, and Social Equity. There, Dr. Biden led and supported various leadership empowerment programs and advocated for the services students needed to pursue successful academic careers.
Like many others, I was appalled when I read the op-ed published last week by the Wall Street Journal. In it, writer Joseph Epstein invited Dr. Jill Biden, the First Lady-elect, to stop using the title "Dr." when President-elect Biden takes office.
There's no need to elaborate on the misogynistic and sexist nature of this article. However, in response to Mr. Epstein, who suggests Dr. Biden to "Forget the small thrill of being Dr. Jill, and settle for the larger thrill of living... as First Lady Jill Biden," I'd suggest that Dr. Biden has already found an incredible thrill through her own personal, professional accomplishments. In her journey as First Lady, Dr. Biden, using her proper title, will become an even more powerful and inspirational role model for women and girls.
I saw firsthand how Dr. Biden's dedication and passion for education came alive at NOVA.
She chose a teaching position at the community college, where students with diverse backgrounds - students of color, financially disadvantaged students, immigrants, and nontraditional students - make strides toward education and achieving their American dream. She joined a team of unique educators who fight every day to help guide students to a better future.
Beyond the classroom, Dr. Biden was active in student life programs to support students' higher education and leadership goals. She led and supported the Annual Women Helping Women Conference, which connects women leaders to students and encourages them to overcome gender and cultural barriers. With other faculty, she created a mentorship program to support struggling students to achieve their educational goals. At every opportunity, Dr. Biden offered support, guidance, and advocated for diversity and inclusion.
I know Dr. Biden as a caring educator who transformed my community college's experiences for countless students. In my eyes, her teaching at a community college generated a great deal of admiration and respect for the Biden family. For years, Dr. Biden has taught in one of the most diverse types of educational institutions, which gave her a unique perspective on America that many in the D.C. political world don't have. She's seen innumerable backgrounds and life experiences among community college students, half of which cannot be found at Ivy League schools.
While many expect future leaders to emerge from top private schools and Ivys, Dr. Biden was among the teachers at NOVA who inspired us to aim higher, regardless of our circumstances or people who might put us down.
Three years ago, I was surrounded by numerous uncertainties and obstacles as an immigrant and a nontraditional student at NOVA.
I moved from Afghanistan to the United States in 2016 due to conflict and war in my home-country. My firsthand experience of human rights violations as a woman in a war-torn country has inspired me to develop my knowledge and academic strengths to equip myself to become a global voice for peace and justice.
NOVA was where I began my educational career. Its diverse, welcoming environment and faculty made up of people like Dr. Biden made all the difference on my academic journey. Under the leadership and guidance of these professors, like Dr. Biden, I made it to Georgetown University, where I'm majoring in Government and Justice and Peace Studies and will soon graduate with honors. Working closely with Dr. Biden in my time at NOVA, and seeing a woman like her with the title of doctor, I knew I wanted to achieve the same. I wanted to be an agent of change, someone who helps others through my words and actions.
Dr. Jill Biden has earned the privilege of being called 'doctor' because she is one.
The title of "doctor" not only honors and respects Dr. Biden's accomplishments; it also motivates thousands of teachers and faculty members who dedicate their lives to educating themselves and others.
In her journey in teaching, Dr. Biden has been an example to hundreds of young women, including myself, who aspire to higher education. Through people like her, we can all learn that an education is something no one can take away from you, no matter how misogynistic an op-ed they write.
Nazila Jamshidi is a graduate student at Georgetown University and a gender equality and human/women's rights advocate. She has assisted various organizations such as the UN, USAID, the Afghan Red Crescent Society, and the Department of Agriculture to include gender perspectives as part of their policies, strategies, and Afghanistan-based foundational practices. Jamshidi has helped a number of women in 27 provinces of Afghanistan to recognize and claim their rights as humans and members of their communities. Follow her on Twitter @NazilaJamshidi1.