Vice President Joe Biden's wife, Dr. Jill Biden, visited De Anza College in Cupertino on Thursday to highlight the Obama Administration's commitment to community colleges.
Jill Biden, who teaches English at a community college in Virginia, sat down with former students to try to figure out if the community college system is working.
Cost is a big draw for students attending community colleges.
In the 2013-2014 school year, it cost about $1,400 a year for tuition on average for a community college in California — which does not include books or lodging. For comparison, it cost about $7,000 a year to attend a California State University and $13,000 to attend a University of California.
"A lot of students don't know that scholarships exists or how to go about it," Jill Biden said. "Or they're afraid to write that essay, so a lot of money goes unused."
De Anza is known for paving the way when it comes to civil and community engagement, which is a vital part of the college campus.
Jill Biden said she came to learn and spread the word about the community college opportunity.
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"That's why we came to see what you're doing, what makes you special and different than other colleges," Jill Biden told a group at De Anza.
Jennifer Torres, who was part of the group who met with Jill Biden, said the visit was productive.
"She asked really good questions," Torres said. "She wanted to know about us and our clubs, what we do and what's working for us."
Meanwhile, Vice President Joe Biden is also in the Bay Area for events in San Francisco and Oakland.
The vice president traveled to San Francisco on Thursday for a political fundraiser. On Friday, he will head to Oakland to visit a PG&E facility and discuss the importance of investing in job-training programs, according to White House officials.
