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Educator gets her message to Pres. Biden during visit

Zubeen Saeed says the meeting with the president was her opportunity to be heard.

WILKES-BARRE, Pa. — It's not every day you get the chance to meet the president, let alone speak with him, but that was the opportunity presented to Zubeen Saeed of Wilkes-Barre over the weekend, which came to fruition on Wednesday during Pres. Joe Biden's visit to Scranton.

"'We're really impressed by what you do. We think it's important for that to get recognition. Would you like to meet the president?' And I was like, 'The president of?' And they're like, 'The United States.' I'm like, 'Oh, sure, why not? I'll put him right in.' So it was an awesome, amazing experience, and that's how it came about," Saeed recalled.

Saeed is the president of Building Blocks Learning Center in Wilkes-Barre.

"We're a child care program, and we provide also before-and-after care in Luzerne County, so what that means is we have child care for infants through school age, and it's an organized program and a structured program, so it's academic-based, and it's a great resource for families that are looking to work."

Saeed says the meeting with the president was her opportunity to be heard.

"I was just sharing with him that how important that if you invest in education, it's a rippling effect in our community, and it could just make us a great nation. And he's like, 'Yeah, you're right. Absolutely.' So and then he grabbed me and shook me and said, 'Yeah, we can do this.' So it was just nice to get that validation for sure."

She says that's what she strives to do every day for children in Luzerne County.

"For me, it's very important that children are valued and respected, and children are heard, and I wanted to create an environment where children got that, because I feel like you're respected and valued, you can only be successful in life, so I wanted to create a space where children got the experience, and we create the experience for them, so they had the love for learning."

Get more information on Building Blocks Learning Center here.

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