Miguel Cardona was born on July 11, 1975 in Meriden, Connecticut. Cardona, whose parents are from Puerto Rico, grew up speaking Spanish, his first language. When he entered kindergarten, he was unable to speak or understand English. This experience would influence his goals as an educator later in his life.

Cardona grew up in a public-housing complex. He attended Meriden’s public schools and studied automotive tech at H.C. Wilcox Technical High School. However, Cardona moved on to earn a Bachelor’s in Education at Central Connecticut State University. This made him the first in his family to graduate from college. Later down the road, he earned a Master’s in Bilingual/Bicultural Education and a Doctorate in Education from the University of Connecticut.

Cardona began his career as an educator teaching in the same district he grew up in. He became an elementary school teacher at Israel Putnam School. When he was 27 years old, he became a school principal. At the time, he was the youngest principal in the state and was even Connecticut’s Principal of the Year in 2012. He was a principal for 10 years.

In 2011, Cardona helped lead a task force to close educational equity gaps in Connecticut-- a cause he has devoted his career to. In 2013, he became Assistant Superintendent. Throughout his career, Cardona has been a champion for English- Language Learners, students with low-income backgrounds, and students with disabilities. In February of 2020, Miguel Cardona became the first latino to be the Commissioner of Education in Connecticut. In the summer, while schools faced the decision of remaining online or reopening, Cardona pushed for schools to reopen. He argued that in-person instruction would prevent equity gaps from growing even more during the pandemic.

In December of 2020, President Biden announced Cardona as his nominee for Secretary of Education. For most people, Cardona’s nomination came out of nowhere. Up until now, Cardona has been largely unknown on the national stage. He faces a tough feat to achieve Biden’s promise to reopen a majority of K-8 schools in his first 100 days in office. During his confirmation hearing on February 3, he faced questions ranging from student debt to high school transgender athletes. When addressing questions for reopening schools, Cardona promised to work closely with the CDC to provide science-based guidance for schools. He called for more Covid testing and for educators to be prioritized for vaccination. At the moment, it appears that Cardona has support from both sides of the aisle. However, with the impeachment process recently moving forward, Cardona’s confirmation may be delayed.

“As the saying in spanish goes: En la unión está la fuerza. In unity there is strength.”

-Cardona (in his testimony for his confirmation hearing)

*Update 6:40 PM (11/4) - 97% of the votes for the presidential election are in, Trump leads in polls 50% to Biden’s 48.8%. Electoral college stands at 264 (Biden) to 214 (Trump).

If Biden wins Nevada, he will be the new president of the U.S.A.

**Update 6:40 PM (11/4) - 96% of the votes for GA Senate are in, Perdue leads in polls 50.4% to Ossoff’s 47.3%.

***Warnock will face Senator Loeffler in a run-off election in January

By MiChea Wade

Do you not know anything about the democratic presidential nominee? Well you’re in luck. Here’s everything you need to know about Joe Biden, just in time for the election.

Childhood

Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. was born on November 20, 1942 to Joseph Robinette Sr. and Catherine Eugenia “Jean” Finnegan. Joe was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania with his brothers and sister Francis, James, and Valerie. He attended St. Paul’s Elementary School, Archmere Academy, the University of Delaware, and Syracuse University Law School. Joe graduated in 1968 with a law degree.

Adulthood

During his time in law school, Biden married his first wife Neilia Hunter, and a year after graduating he fathered his first child Beau Biden. In 1970, he became a member of the New Castle County Council, and started his own firm a year after that. While doing both of those things, he still found time to father two more kids named Hunter and Naomi. In 1973, Joe became the 5th youngest U.S. Senator ever at the age of 29, by beating J. Caleb Biggs. Biden served as senator for 36 years, and during that time, he also served as Chairman of the Committee on Foriegn Relations, Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and as a sponsor for the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act. He did run for president in 1987 only to drop out a year later. 20 years after that, Joe decided to run again, only to drop out and help Barack Obama with his campaign instead. He was also selected as President Obama’s running mate. On January 20, 2009 he became America’s 47th Vice President, a position he held for 8 years.

Hardships

Joe Biden’s life has not been one without pain; he has suffered many hardships. One difficulty in his life is that Joe Biden has always suffered from a debilitating stutter, and was even mocked in school for it. Biden also had to recover from the death of first wife, Neilia, and daughter Naomi, while helping his sons heal, from a devastating car crash in 1972. Not to mention, he survived two brain aneurysms in the 80’s. He also had to deal with the death of his father in 2002, his mother in 2010, and his son Beau in 2015. Biden is also no stranger to scandal, having his fair share of allegations. Nothing seems to stop him, however, seeing as he remarried in 1977, had another daughter named Ashley in 1981, and after going through all of that he is still forging ahead in his political career by running for president in this election.

Well that is everything you need to know about Joseph R. Biden, and be on the lookout for “Getting to Know the Government: Mike Pence Edition”.