First lady Jill Biden generated a lot of buzz in the Hudson Valley on Friday, putting the Biden administration’s economic agenda front and center with visits to a community college and early childhood education center in Dutchess County.

Biden is uniquely positioned for such a visit, working as an educator herself at Northern Virginia Community College. In her tour of the Hudson Valley, she made it clear that an investment in education is an investment in the nation’s future.

“I was at my community college yesterday giving midterm exams. Are you past midterms yet? Is this your little time? Now I have a two-day break, so here I am,” she said.

It was a relatable moment for Dutchess Community College faculty and students. Biden’s first stop on her visit was at the grand opening of a first of its kind facility in the region – a new advanced manufacturing lab at DCC, funded in part by President Joe Biden’s American Rescue Plan.

It was a chance for the first lady to promote the administration’s push to bring manufacturing jobs back to the U.S. and upstate New York.

“The new Mechatronics lab will help students get the skills they need for the growing businesses right here,” she said. “Preparing them for careers, making everything from display screens to jet engines to semiconductors. And, like I said, as a community college professor myself, I am so excited to see how this work changes people's lives.”

On a tour of the state-of-the-art lab was Dutchess Community College student Andrew Sciuto. The 19-year-old is excited about getting a hands-on, quality learning experience and eventually work in the industry.

“It’s great that I can learn in such a nice environment with all this nice stuff, and new stuff, instead of, you know, trying to work with old junk from like 1990,” said Sciuto.

Biden continued her tour and touted early childhood education opportunities in Poughkeepsie. The first lady, who has dedicated her life to teaching, championed the cause of increasing educational opportunities for middle-class families.

“Because there’s a ripple effect when a mom is able to pursue the career she loves, because she doesn’t have to worry about where her child will go, when parents don’t have to choose btw paying grocery bills and paying the child care provider,” Biden said.

“I’m sure that you’ve heard someone at some point say providing high-quality early learning is a nice thing, but it’s just too expensive,” said Geraldine Laybourne, cofounder, DAY ONE Early Learning Community. “Please don’t let that argument go unanswered, because the reality is it’s too expensive not to provide it.”

This is the second visit to the Hudson Valley from the White House in about a year. Last time, President Joe Biden was here.

This visit was seen by many as a way for the administration to help show Americans it's focused on issues American voters care about.