Jill Biden tells Arizona college graduates to tune out people who tell them what they ‘can’t’ do

Jill Biden on Saturday told Arizona community college graduates to tune out the people who like to tell them what they can’t do.

The first lady shared with graduates of Mesa Community College how her high school guidance counselor told her she wasn’t college material and shouldn’t waste her time going. She didn’t listen and got her college degree.

Then she got three more, including two master’s degrees and, at age 55, a doctorate in educational leadership. She went to school at night while raising three children and working full-time.

The first lady has been a teacher for more than 30 years, and since 2009 has taught English and writing at Northern Virginia Community College.

She encouraged the graduates to “drown out” the voices that say “can’t” and to remember the challenges they overcame to get to wear a cap and gown on Saturday.

“You’ve met life’s challenges before. And you know that on the other side of ‘can’t’ lies the beauty and joy and surprise of life, the adventure that changes us for the better,” she said, according to excerpts of her prepared remarks shared with The Associated Press. “And you are ready for it.”

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