First Lady Pool Reports of February 13, 2023

FLOTUS pool report #1 - Mesa, Arizona

Dr. Biden attended Mesa Community College in Mesa, Arizona to highlight a city scholarship program for local students.

U.S. Secretary Miguel Cardona entered the room first and greeted Mesa Mayor John Giles, Gov. Kate Hobbs and Rep. Greg Stanton.

Hobbs was wearing red pant suit and Giles was wearing a blue suit.

Dr. Biden walked into the room with guests and press on her own. She wore a lilac pant suit. She greeted the guests with smiles.

Press was then escorted out of the welcoming room and Dr. Biden did a photo lineup with local elected leaders. Pool reporter could not hear the conversation between Dr. Biden and guests.

The event began with remarks by MCC President Tammy Robinson. Rep. Stanton took to the podium and praise the work of the program.

Many jokes were made on the Eagle's loss of the Super Bowl game on Sunday throughout the remarks. "We have your back," Stanton said to the student who sat on the stage behind the podium. The states success is directly tied to the students success, he said.

Hobbs spoke thanking Dr. Biden for her visit and highlighted her efforts to invest in rural community colleges around the state and add to STEM funding in urban community colleges. Hobbs also spoke about the need to get more high school students in dual enrollment classes.

Hobbs introduced Giles. More background on the Mesa College Promise program in background material. Giles said Mesa is an overachiever in economic growth but needs to do better at in getting students into higher education. He thanked Dr. Biden for her visit to shine a light on the program.

Secretary Cardona also spoke and praised Mesa for making concrete steps in education attainment. He also remarked on the hope to "prevail in the Supreme Court" over President Biden's student loan forgiveness plan.

Cardona introduced a local student and recipient of the program Lilly Hernandez. Hernandez is studying construction management and inspired her father to take classes as well. Her family works in construction. She introduced Dr. Biden.

Dr. Biden said the program will help bridge the gap with students. She talked about the campaign promise to bring two tuition-free years for students attending community college. "we're not giving up despite challenges," said. "This isn't a Democrat or Republican idea. It's an American idea." She also spoke on the job growth and need to build a pipeline to get students educated and jobs.

"We need more communities to follow Mesa's lead," she said. At the end of her remarks, she turned to clap at the student sitting behind her.

Details below and titles of the speakers in the background material.

Background of visit for Office of First Lady

Following the President's State of the Union Address this week, First Lady Jill Biden will travel to Mesa, Arizona on Monday, February 13th to highlight the Biden Administration's commitment to strengthening our economy and building affordable pathways to good-paying jobs through career-connected learning. In his State of the Union Address, the President stated that community colleges provide the "best career training in America," and highlighted the millions of jobs that the Biden-Harris Administration has created. Dr. Biden will continue to highlight career-connected learning later this week when she travels to Valparaiso, Indiana on Friday, February 17th to visit Ivy Tech Community College.

Today, at 12:30 PM, the First Lady will join U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona and Mayor John Giles to visit Mesa Community College to highlight how affordable community college programs like Mesa College Promise are providing students with career-connected learning opportunities that lead to good-paying jobs. The Mesa College Promise offers free tuition to many students in the city of Mesa. These kinds of affordable career-connected learning opportunities will become even more critical, as they help to ensure that students across the country can pursue careers in growing sectors like manufacturing, infrastructure, and clean energy – sectors that are expanding as a result of the Biden Administration's investments through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the Inflation Reduction Act, and the CHIPS and Science Act.

In March 2022, the First Lady visited Intel's Ocotillo Campus in Chandler, AZ to highlight how Intel is collaborating with Maricopa County Community College District, including Mesa Community College, to train workers and grow the workforce by investing in new technology and manufacturing.

Remarks program:

• Dr. Tammy Robinson, President, Mesa Community College
• Dr. Steven Gonzales, Chancellor, Maricopa County Community College District

• Rep. Greg Stanton, 4th District of Arizona
• Mayor John Giles, City of Mesa
• Governor Katie Hobbs
• Miguel Cardona, U.S. Secretary of Education
• Lilly Hernandez, Student, Mesa Community College
• First Lady Jill Biden

The First Lady has been a fierce advocate for career-connected learning programs and pathways to good-paying jobs. Most recently:

• November 2022: The First Lady delivered remarks at the College Promise Careers Institute in Washington, D.C. to highlight the importance and expansion of programs that provide tuition- and barrier-free college, in order to increase access to career-connected learning and good-paying jobs.
• November 2022: To kick off National Apprenticeship Week, the First Lady, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo, U.S. Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh, and U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona traveled to Chicago, Illinois to highlight the Biden-Harris Administration's commitment to strengthening our economy and building pathways to good-paying jobs through career-connected learning, Registered Apprenticeships, and community colleges. They visited District 214's Rolling Meadows High School to meet with students in the school's Career Pathways program and Aon to meet apprentices and learn about the partnership with the Chicago Apprentice Network and the Business Roundtable.
• October 2022: On National Manufacturing Day, the First Lady visited Bates Technical College (BTC) in Tacoma, WA, to highlight its job training programs as leading examples for community college and technical career pipelines that connect current high school and postsecondary students to resources and opportunities.
• July 2022: The First Lady and U.S. Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh visited Eversource Station 99, an electrical substation servicing the Seaport District of Boston, MA, to highlight Bunker Hill Community College's (BHCC) partnership with Eversource and local unions to provide job training opportunities to BHCC students.

Additional background on Dr. Biden's history as a teacher and advocate for College Promise programs:

• As a classroom teacher for more than 30 years, the First Lady continues to shine a spotlight on teachers and the profession.
• Dr. Biden continues to teach English and writing at Northern Virginia Community College, where she has been a professor since 2009.
• As Second Lady, Dr. Biden served as the Honorary Chair of the College Promise National Advisory Board where she helped launch College Promise programs across the country. College Promise programs have expanded around the nation from approximately 50 programs in 2015 to nearly 400 programs.

Mesa Community College
Mesa Community College (MCC) serves approximately 17,000 students in the Mesa, Arizona community. It is the largest of the 10 community colleges in the Maricopa County Community College District. MCC has over 40 career and technical education programs.

Mesa College Promise
The Mesa College Promise was launched in partnership with Mayor John Giles. Now in its second full year, the Mesa College Promise is a commitment from the City of Mesa to its residents that all eligible graduating Mesa high school students can attend Mesa Community College for two years with Arizona resident tuition and fees fully funded.