Air traffic controller, former Air National Guardsman, 2025 Laurel Ridge graduate, and soon-to-be med student Chris Derocher is a generous and selfless man. So selfless that in 2014 he donated his kidney to a stranger.
Nine years ago, his wife showed him a social media post about someone needing a kidney.
“It mentioned the blood type,” said Derocher. “I was the same blood type.”
He was flown from Albany, N.Y. to Boston for the surgery.
“The recipient is doing well,” Derocher said. “She has been able to have two baby girls since then.”
Now, Derocher has gotten a step closer to his dream of continuing to help people – he was recently accepted into medical school.
Service to others runs in Derocher’s family. His father and grandparents had served in the military. And his mother was a nurse and his grandmother worked in a hospital.
After graduating from high school in New York in 2007, Derocher enlisted in the Air National Guard, serving for six years. Derocher started with electronic warfare in Burlington, Vermont, and was cross trained in air traffic control in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.
In 2022, having worked as an air traffic controller for 11 years, Derocher decided to enroll in Laurel Ridge. He took 19 credits during the fall 2023 semester, including some classes through the University of New England, which specializes in pre-health coursework, and still maintained a 4.0 GPA.
Derocher enjoyed Professor Ray Rogers’s classes so much, he took Physics 2 with him in spring 2024, while also taking a literature and individualized study course at George Mason University. He continued dividing his time between the two colleges over the summer – taking medical terminology at Laurel Ridge and 15 hours of credits at GMU.
At GMU, Derocher’s bachelor’s degree will be in individualized study, and he is able to apply some of his military experience towards it. He is taking 16 credits this fall at GMU, transferring one of the courses back to Laurel Ridge, which will earn him his associate of applied science degree this fall. He will graduate from GMU in the spring.
Derocher was recently accepted into the West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine. He is considering specializing in anesthesiology, with possible further training in critical care medicine or pediatric anesthesia.
“Anesthesiology was always something that kind of fascinated me,” he said.
However, the idea of returning to college to embark on a new career didn’t seem like an option until recently. Derocher’s wife is in school studying to be a nurse practitioner and inspired him.
“Just seeing her do really well in everything and excel kind of focused me a little bit,” he said.
Then during the pandemic shutdown, the Derochers were able to pay off their debt, and could live more comfortably.
“I was able to think, what do I want to do now, not what do I need to do,” he recalled.
One of Derocher’s favorite teachers was Chemistry Professor Sam Dillender. He took four chemistry courses with him.
“He’s a caring guy, and he was able to break stuff down to teach really well,” Derocher said. “I liked his method of teaching. You could tell that he wanted to be there. Any time I needed help, my professors emailed back, offered to meet via Zoom on nights and weekends.”
A favorite spot on both the Middletown Campus and the Fauquier Campus for Derocher, who lives in Bealeton, was the Veterans Center.
“They saw me all the time,” he said. “It’s quiet. There’s always a place to study. I was able to print stuff out, and staple and organize all my paperwork. I borrowed their textbooks for classes. And, they always had snacks.
“Everyone was amazing and [school certifying official] Sharon Painter and [veteran academic advisor] Jeanmarie Corrado were a great help. I liked the small class sizes, the intimate environment at Laurel Ridge. I didn’t think I would like some of the online aspects because I’m older, but I’ve liked them, too.”
Derocher, who has two sons, ages 10 and 12, also volunteers as a concierge at Fauquier Hospital visiting patients and at Fauquier County Public Schools where he assists with vision and hearing screenings. He received support from the Laurel Ridge Foundation through the Alice & William Johnson Memorial Endowed Scholarship and the Grisdale Family Veterans Endowed Fund.
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.