At Laurel Ridge Community College, Liberal Arts student Adam Gagnon has found both his people and the academic gifts he didn’t realize he possessed. Along the way, he has picked up leadership skills and several scholarships.
When he was in fifth grade, Gagnon – who grew up in Shenandoah and Clarke counties – was pulled out of public school to be homeschooled. However, the education he then received was very limited, with Gagnon estimating he was at a seventh-grade level at age 18. When friends encouraged him to take the general educational development (GED) test, Gagnon enrolled in the Adult Education program at Laurel Ridge.
“The classes were great, exactly what I needed,” he said. “As a homeschool student without a lot of parental pressure, all of the onus was on me to get my work done, and I was an ADHD-riddled teenager. There’s a huge amount of learned helplessness I’ve had to fight to get through. I’m really proud of what I’ve been able to do for myself with the hand I was given, the people I know, my friends.”
The seventh of eight siblings, Gagnon earned his GED in winter 2024 – and convinced one of his brothers to do likewise – and enrolled as a credit student at Laurel Ridge for the fall 2024 semester. Enrolling at Laurel Ridge came after a period during which he had greatly suffered from anxiety and depression. Gagnon was also diagnosed with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) around this time.
Gagnon, who now lives in Maurertown, is on track to earn his associate degree in liberal arts next spring, and then plans to transfer to the University of Virginia to study history.
“I’ve loved history for as long as I can remember – just been obsessed with it,” he said.
History professor Curtis Morgan is a favorite of Gagnon’s.
“He’s a blast,” he said. “I love his classes.”
Gagnon said he has liked all of his professors.
“Literally, everyone,” he said. “There hasn’t been a professor I’ve disliked.”
Former math professor Cody Fouts was “super, super awesome,” as was communications instructor Sarah Pangle.
“She was one of the first professors I ever interacted with here,” said Gagnon.
He said that aside from when he was earning his GED, he’d never written an essay before coming to Laurel Ridge.
“I thought I would be a lot worse at it than I ended up being,” Gagnon said. “I thought that about all of my classes for my first semester. I thought me getting all As was kind of a fluke.”
A German class he took through another community college has been the only B he has earned.
“It’s a weird feeling, having grown up assuming that I’m always going to be the stupidest person in a room, to listening to my fellow classmates talking about getting Cs and lower and just not being able to relate to that,” said Gagnon, who works at Biscuits and Beans Cat Café in Winchester.
He was surprised to learn recently that he has already earned a degree in general studies, graduating summa cum laude.
While at Laurel Ridge, Gagnon has received financial aid as well as the Gerald F. Smith Endowed Scholarship, the Carroll S. and Velma M. Hockman Endowed Scholarship and the Shenandoah Valley Battlefields Foundation: Jay W. Johns Jr. Outstanding Achievement in History Award.
His high grade point average has earned him membership in Phi Theta Kappa (PTK), the international honor society for two-year colleges. Gagnon could finish his liberal arts degree at the end of the fall semester but is extending his time at the college so he can take part in a PTK leadership fair in the spring. He’s the vice president of scholarship and honors for the Middletown Campus chapter of PTK.
Gagnon could finish his liberal arts degree at the end of the fall semester but is extending his time at the college so he can take part in a PTK leadership fair in the spring. He’s the vice president of scholarship and honors for the Middletown Campus chapter of PTK.
Gagnon has also enjoyed being a Student Ambassador. He said he signed up his first semester after seeing a sign-up table at a campus picnic.
“I’d wanted to sign up for something to meet new people,” Gagnon said. “That was behind a good 80 percent of my decision to come to Laurel Ridge – to just meet people. I love going to the events and helping out with everything. It’s just a lot of fun. The Student Ambassador program has been a great way for me to meet a whole bunch of people from a whole bunch of backgrounds.”
Besides joining several clubs, Gagnon has also rounded out his college experience by advocating for community colleges to members of the Virginia General Assembly and attending student leadership conferences.
“They’re just really wonderful experiences to get out, network, meet people,” he said. “I feel incredibly lucky to have been afforded the opportunities I’ve been given. I’ve really put a whole lot of experience in my life in such a short amount of time compared to a life that was very uneventful before, and I’ve loved every second of it.”
Laurel Ridge is a great option for those living in the area, Gagnon said. There are online classes for those who can’t come to campus, professors willing to go the extra mile for their students, flexible class times and places for students to get together.
“Because it’s a small college, you can get a lot of that deep connection with your professors,” Gagnon said. “They want to work with you. They want you to get your education. There’s great financial support. You can really find your people here.”