Last Tuesday, October 10th, I was lucky enough to attend the “Distinguished Speakers” event with Jill Biden here at Penn State.  I walked away with so many thoughts and feelings about what she said that I immediately went to my room and wrote down everything I could possibly remember from the talk so I wouldn’t forget the way I was feeling at that moment.  

Going into the auditorium, I wasn’t expecting much but I went because I thought it would be a cool experience considering my love for the Obama administration, especially the Obama and Biden families. Dr. Biden spoke beautifully about a range of issues that she is passionate about.  I admire her so much because of the fact that she kept a full-time job as a professor while being the Second Lady just because she didn’t want to have to give up her passion for teaching for her husband’s new position as Vice President.

The parts of the talk that stood out most to me, however, were when she talked about strength and leadership.

She led one portion of the talk by asking the question, “What is your strength?” She believes that no matter what kind of situation you are involved in, you can always find a strength of yours that will make a difference.  For example, she told a story about a time when 5 of her friends were diagnosed with breast cancer, one of them eventually dying from it.  She said all she could think about was how she could help or make a difference.  So she asked herself the question, “What is my strength?” and she realized she could use her teaching abilities to make a difference.  She created a foundation, the Biden Breast Health Initiative, and went around to every single high school in Delaware to inform teens of the importance of getting regular mammograms and self-checking in order to find the early signs of breast cancer.

This story really spoke to me because too often we discredit ourselves and think that because we aren’t professionals in a certain subject, that we can’t do anything to help.  Dr. Biden wanted to prove that this isn’t the case; anyone and everyone can find a way to make a difference if they just figure out a way to use their strength.

Another part of the talk that inspired me was during the Q & A portion when she was asked, “What qualities are important to be a leader?”  She responded in a way that surprised me; she said that a leader is someone that makes you feel something. She even went on to say that she sees more leaders in everyday life than she does within the politicians she has met throughout her time as Second Lady. Leaders are scientists and teachers and authors. Leaders make you feel something so strongly that you want to get up and do something about it.  They inspire you because of how they make you feel, and therefore anyone can be a leader.

Dr. Biden really impressed me in the way that she presented herself during this talk.  Not only was she well-spoken, but the messages she wanted to bestow upon the audience were eye-opening and inspiring.  She truly believes that anyone can, and should, do anything they set their mind to.