DES MOINES (AP) — On a night last week when Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad was hosting a holiday reception at the governor’s mansion in Des Moines, Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds, typically close at his side during such events, was conspicuously absent.

Instead of mingling over hors d’oeuvres in Terrace Hill’s elegance as Branstad’s highly visible No. 2, Reynolds was in a college classroom on the city’s west side with the same title as the rest of the 15 or so others in the room: student.

Reynolds this year has made strides toward earning her bachelor’s degree, no small feat since Branstad has tasked her with statewide education initiatives and she spent the fall campaigning for her fellow Republican candidates.