For Immediate Release:
April 23, 2025
Primary Media Contact:
Sally Voth
Public Relations Specialist
[email protected]
Phone: 540-868-7134
2011 graduate Joyce Stabile is proof that it’s never too late to pursue your goals and that you can go on – and even thrive – after adversity. The mortgage industry professional is the 2025 Distinguished Alumni Award recipient.
“I was 51 when I came to Laurel Ridge,” said Stabile, who currently serves as an assistant vice president and loan officer with Bank of Clarke.
The circumstances that brought her to the college may have been tragic, but her time at Laurel Ridge played an integral role in securing a happy future.
In late 2008, Stabile suffered a brain injury at the hands of her ex-husband. She had previous experience with The Laurel Center, a shelter for women and children in Winchester, and was assigned an outside counselor from the center. The counselor suggested she come to Laurel Ridge and take one class to help her brain heal.
Ever-determined, Stabile said, “I can do two classes.”
“The very first day I came to the college, I was pretty intimidated because of the effect the brain injury had on me,” said Stabile.
However, she was surrounded by support. Her older brother, Sam Rhodes, immediately took her into his Strasburg home. Late Professor Laurie Alphonse, who used a wheelchair after suffering domestic violence herself, was assigned as Stabile’s advisor.
“I just saw how God’s hand was in all of it,” Stabile said. “Being a 51-year-old full-time student was hard because I had been out of school a long time.”
Besides being inspired by Professor Alphonse’s sociology class, Stabile greatly enjoyed the English class she was taking.
“I couldn’t believe how much I enjoyed reading and just discovering this brand-new world that was opening up to me,” she said.
She received practical and moral support through the TRIO program, which provides wraparound services to students who are low-income, have a documented disability or are a first-generation college student. Stabile especially remembers the support of Amber Foltz, now Laurel Ridge’s dean of students, and Winona Jenkins, who is now assistant to the associate vice president of Student Services and Academic Support.
“I would show up in Amber’s office and say, ‘I can’t do this,’ and she would say, ‘Yes, you can,’” Stabile recalled. “Everyone was very supportive.”
She originally came to Laurel Ridge hoping to become a counselor, but the director at The Laurel Center, advised against it, saying this could have her reliving her trauma daily. That’s when Stabile decided to stay within the industry she had been working – she has now been in the mortgage business for 35 years.
“I was willing to give up that career to start something new, but as it turns out, I counsel people all the time,” she said. “It’s just a little bit different how I counsel them. I counsel them on their finances.”
Fortunately, credits Stabile had previously earned decades before at Longwood University and Northern Virginia Community College transferred to Laurel Ridge, and she was able to graduate with her associate degree in liberal arts in 2011.
“My degree from Laurel Ridge gave me confidence,” she said.
Stabile credits the EMDR (eye movement desensitization and reprocessing) therapy she received with licensed professional counselor Joan Monahan for helping her overcome her PTSD.
“I never thought I would live that life,” she said. “Now looking back on it, it feels like it’s somebody else’s life. My ex-husband was struggling, and I was doing everything I could to try to help him.”
After graduating from Laurel Ridge, Stabile married her husband, Joe. They hosted their wedding reception at the Corron Community Development Center on Laurel Ridge’s Middletown Campus. Between them, the couple has five children and 13 grandchildren. They are raising their young great-grandchild.
In the years since her graduation, Stabile has been active in the community. She is an emeritus board member of The Laurel Center, past chair of the Blue Ridge Association of Realtors Special Events Committee, and has served with Celebrate Recovery, United Way Day of Caring, the Rescue Mission, Women of Winchester, Top of Virginia Regional Chamber and Winchester Encouragers Network. She was recently named the 2024 Blue Ridge Association of Realtors Affiliate of the Year.
“I really believe that experience (domestic violence) was used for me to help other people,” she said.
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Founded in 1970, Laurel Ridge Community College is a multi-campus public institution of higher education. With three locations — Middletown, Warrenton, and Luray-Page County — the College serves eight localities in the Shenandoah Valley and northern Piedmont regions. The localities are the counties of Clarke, Fauquier, Frederick, Page, Rappahannock, Shenandoah and Warren and the city of Winchester. Laurel Ridge offers more than 75 associate degree and certificate programs in a wide variety of disciplines, in addition to providing access to bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degree programs offered on site by a four-year institution. Laurel Ridge also serves the business community by offering workforce preparation programs for employees and employers. Laurel Ridge serves more than 9,000 unduplicated credit students and more than 11,000 individuals in professional development and business and industry courses annually.
Laurel Ridge Community College is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) to award associate degrees. Laurel Ridge Community College also may offer credentials such as certificates and diplomas at approved degree levels. Questions about the accreditation of Laurel Ridge Community College may be directed in writing to the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges at 1866 Southern Lane, Decatur, GA 30033-4097, by calling (404) 679-4500, or by using information available on SACSCOC’s website (www.sacscoc.org).
Laurel Ridge Community College is an equal opportunity institution providing educational and employment opportunities, programs, services, and activities. Laurel Ridge shall promote and maintain equal employment and educational opportunities without regard to race, color, religion, disability, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, ethnicity, marital status, pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions including lactation, age (except when age is a bona fide occupational qualification), status as a veteran, national origin, or other non-merit factors. Laurel Ridge also prohibits sexual misconduct including sexual violence or harassment. Inquiries may be directed to the Associate Vice President, Human Resources, [email protected], 173 Skirmisher Lane, Middletown, VA 22645, 540-868-7226.
Laurel Ridge Community College was known as Lord Fairfax Community College until June 2022. For consistency purposes, the college will be referenced as Laurel Ridge going forward.
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