LRCC welcomes second class of Future Educators

Logo used by permission from Laurel Ridge Community College

Laurel Ridge Community College’s second cohort of students in the Future Educators Academy began their studies this semester.

The program allows high school juniors to enroll and spend their mornings at Laurel Ridge and the rest of the day at their high school.

Students can then earn their associates degree in Education at the same time they graduate high school and will have guaranteed admission to education programs at Mary Baldwin, Old Dominion, Shenandoah, Lynchburg, and Mary Washington with more agreements in the works.

Students may also transfer to other four schools in the state with their associates degree.

The program is free for students and was created to help address widespread teacher shortages across the region.

Sherando High School senior Maddox Hayes joined the program last year with the goal of teaching middle or high school students and said, “Since middle school, I’ve found I really like to help people, and this is just an opportunity for me to help people as my full-time job and do it all the time. My favorite part about FEA is probably how it’s accelerated and I’m going to be two years ahead.”

Learn more about the program here.

For more news from across the Shenandoah Valley, click here.

Laurel Ridge celebrates Fauquier’s first Paramedic graduates

Laurel Ridge Community College celebrated the graduation of the first cohort of students from the newly expanded Paramedic Program at the Fauquier Campus on Monday.

The expansion was prompted by a request from the Fauquier County Department of Fire and Rescue that noted members previously needed to travel to Middletown to upgrade their credential from EMT to paramedic.

Students attended classes in a hybrid format with one in-person session per week and received clinical training through a partnership with Fauquier Health.

The next cohort of paramedic students began their studies this week and the program has already doubled its capacity from 12 to 24 students with 5 more on the waitlist.

Paramedics remain in demand and students interested may be eligible to have their tuition and fees paid through the G3 Program.

According to Laurel Ridge, there are currently 19 openings in the area and 7,269 openings nationally with a median hourly wage of $30 per hour.

(Photo of Laurel Ridge EMS Director R.J. Montaño (left) and Paramedic Program graduate Tanner May via Laurel Ridge)

For more news from across the Shenandoah Valley, click here.

Laurel Ridge launches new Fiber Optics programs, first in VA

Logo used by permission from Laurel Ridge Community College

Laurel Ridge Community College is the first community college in the state to approve two new Fiber Optics programs: Fiber Splicing Specialist and Fiber ODTR, or Optical Time Domain-Reflectometer, Specialist.

With the addition of these two FastForward courses, Laurel Ridge now offers three levels of Fiber Optics Workforce training programs and workers in these fields remain in high demand to provide high-speed internet, tv, and phone services.

Laurel Ridge is also launching a Certified Mission Critical Operator (CMCO) Course starting September 1st which will help ensure mission critical facilities like data centers or emergency rooms are able to run reliably and without interruption.

Daniel Judy, manager of the Middletown Data Center, will teach the course and said that he looks forward to helping create a pipeline of skilled local technicians.

The new Fiber programs are only offered at the Fauquier Campus but will soon expand to Middletown.

Middletown’s Campus will host the CMCO course.

Workforce Credential Grant funding will cover two-thirds of FastForward program costs for eligible students, and for those who qualify, G3 funding will pick up any remaining tuition costs.

To learn more about the new programs, click here.

For more news from across the Shenandoah Valley, click here.

LRCC welcomes 3,100 students for fall semester

Logo used by permission from Laurel Ridge Community College

Laurel Ridge Community College welcomed more than 3,100 students this fall semester.

The most popular pathways chosen by students this semester include Nursing, Health Sciences, General Studies, Education, Business Administration, Engineering, and Science.

This fall’s student population is made up from students throughout the Valley with 770 from Frederick County, 569 from Winchester, 539 from Fauquier County, 370 from Shenandoah County, and 345 from Warren County.

These enrollment numbers are expected to increase as the semester begins and local high schools include their dual enrollment students.

Students interested in enrolling this fall or continuing their education can still apply.

Laurel Ridge President Kim Blosser welcomed students to the Middletown Campus on Monday and said, “The students are at the heart of what we do here, and all of us are here to help them find success. I’m looking forward to another year of changing students’ lives.”

For more news from across the Shenandoah Valley, click here.

LRCC celebrates 20 years in Luray and Page County

Laurel Ridge Community College celebrated 20 years at the Luray Page County Center last week.

The event featured speeches by Laurel Ridge President Kim Blosser, current students, alumni, and supporters before thunderstorms interrupted the festivities.

The original LPCC opened in 2006 before the new 13,000 sq ft facility opened near Walmart five years ago.

The new space allowed an expansion of class offerings for on-site trades and science labs.

New opportunities continue to emerge with the center and during President Blosser’s speech, she noted that the first cohort of certified nursing assistant students began their studies earlier in the week.

Since it’s inception 20 years ago, the LPCC has served nearly 3,000 students for college credits, adult education classes, and workforce solutions programs.

Of the 923 LPCC students who graduated from the college, the group has earned a combined 1,564 degrees and certificates.

For more information on the partnership, click here.

For more news from across the Shenandoah Valley, click here.

Laurel Ridge honored by Luray-Page County Chamber

The Luray-Page County Chamber of Commerce recognized Laurel Ridge Community College for the school’s community contributions during the chamber’s 100th annual banquet and awards ceremony.

The Nonprofit Excellence Award is presented to a nonprofit chamber member that:

  • goes above and beyond in communicating it’s mission
  • tirelessly works towards goals that align with a common purpose
  • positively impacts the community
  • foster relations with other nonprofits to promote collaboration and collective efforts to address community needs that provide a lasting impact.

Laurel Ridge’s nomination highlighted the over 1,500 degrees and certificates awarded to students attending the Luray-Page County Center since it opened 20 years ago.

In total, the satellite location has served around

  • 2,600 students
  • 230 Laurel Ridge Workforce solutions students
  • 80 Adult Education participants

The nomination also praised Laurel Ridge’s dual enrollment program offered to local high school students and stated, ““Not only do these DE classes save Page County residents tuition dollars when they transfer to four-year colleges and universities, they also help them save time, develop the skills to take on the rigor of college-level courses and become more impressive job applicants.”

Page County saw an increase in total dual enrollment from 141 in 2024 to 146 in 2025.

Laurel Ridge President Kim Blosser said, “We are so honored to receive the Excellence Award from the Luray-Page County Chamber of Commerce… and to continue to serve the… area for many years to come.”

For more information on the award, click here.

For more news from across the Shenandoah Valley, click here.

Laurel Ridge honors four community leaders with Medallions of Recognition

Laurel Ridge Community College bestowed the school’s highest nonacademic honor, the Medallion of Recognition, to four community leaders during a ceremony last week.

 Larry Baker was honored after he retired from Laurel Ridge last year and served as the business development manager for the college’s Workforce Solutions program.

Baker helped build the Workforce Solutions program to one of the best in Virginia and founded the Leadership Institute.

Bill Long and Sandy Stonebreaker-Long were presented their award for their work in the field of career and technical education and the community.

The Long’s auto care business benefitted from Laurel Ridge’s Shark Tank style competition in 2016 which helped expand the Front Royal location.

Their charity, Cars Changing Lives, has helped giveaway 85 cars to those in need since 2018.

Todd Lynn was recognized posthumously for his leadership in Career and Technical Education after working as principal of Triplett Tech and Shenandoah County Public School’s CTE supervisor until his passing last July.

He was engaged with the Career Pathways Consortium and helped create World of Work (an immersive career expo for eight graders across the region), the Laurel Ridge trades academy, and EMS academy.

For more information on these honorees, click here.

For more news from across the Shenandoah Valley, click here.

Laurel Ridge prepares for 55th commencement ceremony

Laurel Ridge Community College is preparing for its 55th commencement ceremonies later this week.

The college is holding separate ceremonies for the 1,250 total graduates with a health professions ceremony on Thursday, May 14th and then the general commencement on Friday, May 15th.

Ceremonies will be held behind Commencement Hall and begin at 10 am on each day.

Travelers along Route 11 in Middletown should expect heavy traffic surrounding each ceremony.

The 2026 Class is highlighted by a growth of over 150 additional students from 2025 and includes 296 graduates from Frederick County, followed by 183 from Fauquier, 171 from Winchester, 137 from Shenandoah County and 119 from Warren County.

Commencement speakers include Dayana Portillo, a graduate earning her associate degree of nursing and a health science certificate on Thursday and Monica Thompson, a graduate receiving her Associate Degree of Education, on Friday.

For more information on Laurel Ridge’s 2026 Graduation, click here.

Other upcoming commencement ceremonies include:

For more news from across the Shenandoah Valley, click here. 

Graduation season begins in the Shenandoah Valley

Graduation season begins around the region this weekend with Shenandoah University’s commencement ceremony taking place Saturday morning at 10 am at the James R. Wilkins Center.

The ceremony will honor over 1,400 graduates and the University is anticipating roughly 5,000 attendees so expect heavy traffic near campus entrances and Millwood Avenue Saturday morning.

SU’s Commencement events begin on Thursday, May 7th with the Graduate Walk Through and Grad Bash and will conclude with Saturday’s Ceremony.

Laurel Ridge Community College and Christendom College will host their commencement ceremonies next weekend.

Other Spring ceremonies include:

For more news from across the Shenandoah Valley, click here. 

Laurel Ridge receives $15,000 in grants for student support

Laurel Ridge Community College was selected as a 2025 Progress, Accomplishment, Thriving Hope, or PATH, Scholarship recipient through the Ellucian Foundation to support students in need.

The grant provides $15,000 to the college which will be distributed to 17 students.

Six students will receive assistance with childcare costs as part of Laurel Ridge’s efforts to support parent scholars.

11 Power Line Worker students received funding to cover their living expenses while completing the final weeks of their program near Southside Community College in Blackstone, Virginia.

The PATH Scholarship was established with the goal of benefiting students facing economic hardships and subsequent educational disruptions and since 2020 the program has provided more than $3.7 million in grants to support over 3,700 plus students.

For more news from across the Shenandoah Valley, click here.