(NEWSnet/AP) — Jill Biden on Saturday told Arizona college graduates to tune out 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 attending. She didn't listen, and got her college degree.

Then, she got three more, including two master's degrees and a doctorate in educational leadership. 

She 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.

“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, and you are ready for it,” she said. “The next time that someone tells you that you ‘can’t,’ you’re going to say, ‘Oh yeah?...Watch me,’” 

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