Second Lady Dr. Jill Biden is traveling throughout Latin America this week to meet with educators, government officials and civil society members to amplify conversations about economic empowerment and the importance of girls' and women's education.
"I am going to be visiting the First Lady of Argentina and touring schools, and then we are going to take a presidential delegation to Panama," Biden said in a call with NBC Latino. "I am going to meet with 1,500 teachers in Argentina, and this is going to be exciting for me because I am a teacher."
Biden has a doctorate in education, and has been a community college professor, teaching English, for over 20 years.
Biden is documenting her trip through Costa Rica, Peru, Argentina and Panama on her newly created Medium account. She has already posted photos and stories from her time in San Jose, Costa Rica. She stopped by the Universidad Técnica Nacional to speak to students and faculty in the Women in Science and Technology program.
"“We all have a stake in the success of our nations; a stake in the success of our corner of the world," she said, according to her post about her visit. "As a lifelong educator, I believe that education is one of the keys to securing that success. You — the students here today — are our hope for the future."
On Monday, Biden arrived in Lima, Peru to tour various Peruvian Minister of Trade and Tourism Magali Silva. After meeting restauraneturs and aspiring chefs, she traveled to TECSUP, a private educational institution, to see how MIT's "Fab Lab" program is helping Peruvians boost local entrepreneurship.
On Wednesday she visited the Colegio de Alto Rendimiento, Cusco to discuss ways the U.S. and Peru can work together to create programs specialized to empowering women and girls economically and with education.
