# Where Do I Even Start?

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-valley-today-1144037/where-do-i-even-start
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-valley-today-1144037/where-do-i-even-start.md
Podcast: [The Valley Today](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-valley-today-1144037)
Published: 2026-07-09T15:00:00+00:00
Episode link: https://thevalleytodaypodcast.com/where-do-i-even-start
Audio file: https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/thevalleytoday/20260709VT.mp3?dest-id=2999852
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-valley-today-1144037/episodes/where-do-i-even-start
Duration seconds: 1465

## Resource

"I'm the person that calls that number and just pushes zero until a human picks up. I need a Thomas." Brandy Hawkins Boies said it, and it's the truest thing about community college enrollment in 2026. On this Laurel Ridge Community College edition of The Valley Today, host Janet Michael welcomes back Director of Communications and Outreach Brandy Hawkins Boies, joined by Thomas Monk — Outreach Specialist and Career Coach at Laurel Ridge's Middletown campus, and the actual first human anyone new to Laurel Ridge is likely to meet. Thomas walks through what an outreach specialist actually does — 25+ conversations a week with prospective students of every age (from high schoolers exploring dual enrollment to 50-somethings quietly wondering if it's too late to change careers), a philosophy of "half the hurdle is just getting started," and a way of thinking about the college journey as a baton pass across five different departments that the student experiences as one hour of their time. He explains the biggest questions he gets ("How do I get started?" and "Can I afford this?"), the guaranteed-admission agreements with 37 Virginia colleges and universities, why he starts by asking students what they DON'T want to do, and why he loves being the objective third party in what's often a very personal decision. Plus: the upcoming Laurel Ridge Open House on July 23rd (virtual at noon, in-person at 5 PM), why AI and machine learning is now a real Laurel Ridge program, and Janet's ongoing internal dialogue about what she should go back to school for — with special thanks to her best friend Mary, whose incoming text after this episode is a foregone conclusion. WHERE TO START AT LAUREL RIDGE FOR PROSPECTIVE STUDENTS (any age, any goal) • Ask a question — laurelridge.edu/visit → the t…

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## Transcript

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