Little did Sam Bohus know that when he came to Laurel Ridge Community College with his daughter, Megan, to register for classes in June 2022, he would soon be registering as well.
A lieutenant with Winchester Fire and Rescue Department, the firefighter-paramedic is a 1994 graduate of Stonewall Jackson High School (now called Mountain View High School). After working at a factory for about seven years, he went into the fire and rescue service. Sam attended Laurel Ridge’s Fauquier Campus for emergency medical services classes about 20 years ago, as well as some non-credit workforce classes in the past.
He decided to ask his daughter’s advisor, AnnaJane Cribbs, how many credits he would need in order to earn his associate degree. Cribbs was able to determine that with his prior credits at Laurel Ridge and credit for prior learning that came with his paramedic license, he only needed about six more general education classes to complete his degree in emergency medical services.
“I didn’t think I would ever get a degree, but when we left here, Meg and I had a conversation about it,” Sam said. “I said I would wait a year, that this was her time.”
But, Megan, who also graduated from Stonewall Jackson, didn’t mind if her father joined her in college.
“I think it’s kind of cool actually,” she said. “How many people do you know who graduate with their parent? We’re like a dynamic duo. We do a lot of stuff together.”
Megan said she took a lot of dual-enrollment classes while in high school to get a jump start on college. When she spoke to Cribbs, she found out she only needed about one year to finish her degree.
While she originally thought she might go into a radiology program following her graduation with an associate degree in general studies, Megan might decide to explore other options, including programs offered through Laurel Ridge Community College Workforce Solutions.
The father and daughter did most of their classes online, which Megan said was convenient for both the way she prefers to study and for her work schedule at Food Lion.
“I really liked my medical terminology class,” she said. “It was very straightforward. The content has really stuck with me and proven helpful. Ethics this semester was pretty fun. I found the content very interesting, and Professor Jason Matzke is a good professor.”
Megan also cited Information Technology Art Lee and Biology Professor Ann Simpson as other favorites.
Her dad enjoyed his biology class the most. He works 24-hour shifts followed by two days off.
“Doing the online classes, I could just do them on my off days,” Sam said.
His daughter teased, “There was a fair amount of complaining from him about having homework again.”
Sam is also grateful to Cribbs.
“AnnaJane was really good to work with,” he said. “She knew exactly what to get Meg signed up for. When she started working on my stuff, she had an answer for everything I needed on the same day.”
Sam and Megan will actually graduate one day apart since the commencement ceremony for students in the health professions is May 11, while for all other graduates it’s May 12, which only has one drawback according to Megan.
“The only thing that’s a bummer about that is if we did have it on the same day, my name starts with an ‘M,’ so I would’ve actually graduated before him,” she said.
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.