Luray resident Kjirsten Flanders let a chance to attend the Culinary Institute of America pass her by as she slipped into drug addiction and petty crime to feed that addiction. Now, she understands that maybe this was all to lead her to a higher purpose – to help others reclaim their lives. Today, Flanders is studying human services at Laurel Ridge.
Flanders, who has an 8-year-old son named Conner, grew up in Colorado. While attending a high school that focused on personalized and experiential learning, she interned with a chef at a soup kitchen, and thought that she would also enter the culinary field.
“Being the rebellious teenager that I was, I did not take advantage of the scholarship,” Flanders said while sitting at a picnic table as her son played at an adjacent playground. “I went out and partied and did stupid stuff instead.”
That “stupid stuff” included dropping out of high school and becoming addicted to opiates. She was in the throes of her addiction, which later evolved into dependence on amphetamines, when she moved to Luray with her mother and stepfather.
“I was stealing things to support my habit,” Flanders said.
Following an arrest and subsequent probation violations for continuing to use drugs, Flanders spent 7½ months in jail.
“It really opened my eyes,” she said. “I was preparing myself to go to prison because of the probation violations. I knew in my heart that I was done with addiction. I wrote a letter to the judge, and he gave me one last chance. I’m glad that he also saw that I was done.”
With a warning that he would send her to prison if she violated again, the judge did give Flanders another chance. When she was let out of jail, rather than heading back to her old habits, Flanders went to Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous meetings.
That was 3½ years ago, and Flanders is finally off of probation.
“I was on probation for 13 years,” she said. “It took me a long time to learn my lesson, but I learned it. I decided to take my sobriety seriously because that was what it was going to take. When you’re in active addiction, you do whatever it takes to get your fix. I used that same mentality for sobriety – I do whatever it takes. I’ve grown so much since then.”
Flanders, 32, has been working at Broad Porch Coffee Co., where she is head kitchen, for the past 3½ years. She also made the decision to continue her education. The first step was enrolling in Laurel Ridge’s Adult Education program at the Luray-Page County Center, which led to her earning her GED in May 2024. Her instructor, Kara Winum, encouraged her to then enroll in the college’s credit classes.
Now, Flanders is attending Laurel Ridge and plans to earn her associate degree in human services. She said Luray-Page County Center Manager Judy Suddith helped her realize that program of study was the right fit for her.
“I’m taking as many classes online as possible because it fits my schedule,” she said.
For now, Flanders is continuing to work full-time, although she wishes she could afford to work less and take more classes.
“It’s working fine so far – I have a 3.9 GPA,” she said. “I never thought I would be at this point, succeeding in college.
“Above everything else, I’m a mother. Conner comes before anything. I do most of my classwork when he goes to bed.”
Flanders said her own mother has been her “biggest supporter.”
“She has been there through everything,” she said. “She’s my rock. I’m glad to have the opportunity to go to college. I never thought I would get that opportunity back. I know exactly what I want to do now. I’m focused.
“My end goal is to work with other addicts and just generally help people and addicts in institutions and jails. When I was in jail, it was during covid, and nobody helped me. I detoxed by myself. I didn’t have a counselor or somebody to talk to me. I want to advocate for addicts and felons who are trying to do better. I want to give us a voice.”
These days, Flanders has both an NA sponsor and two sponsees.
“They’re both doing great,” she said. “I’m so proud of them.”
Looking back, she sees a connection today to her culinary work at the soup kitchen and her then-aspirations.
“Knowing everything now, maybe I wasn’t destined to be in the culinary field, but maybe it was actually human services because soup kitchens are part of that network of human services,” said Flanders.
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.