Nazila Jamshidi had just moved to the United States from Afghanistan when she met Jill Biden at the women’s center of Northern Virginia Community College, where Biden teaches and Jamshidi had just enrolled. Jamshidi says she realized that the school had many women Afghan students who weren’t able to finish their degrees and proposed an Afghan women’s summit to help them.

“Dr. Biden welcomed that idea,” Jamshidi says. “She said we should do everything we can do to help every kind of student at our school.” The summit was a success, and soon after an Afghan student council was launched.

With a 40-year career teaching public high school and community college, Biden understands students are from every race, country, economic class, and