As Rappahannock Community College gears up for a new school year to begin on Aug. 27, students entering the college will have a myriad of new opportunities.

The school, which will be celebrating its 50th anniversary in just over a year, is also realizing increasing enrollment, with about 170 more students signed up for classes than at this time last year.

RCC president Elizabeth “Sissy” Crowther is beginning her 15th year as the head of the school and looks back in amazement at all of the strides the college has made in the past decade and a half. “All you have to do is take a look around the school,” she said. “It’s been absolutely transformed.”

RCC, which for years had been strictly a commuter college, now offers a welcoming atmosphere as well as state-of-the-art labs and workforce development programs.

During a recent tour, Crowther showed off the college’s new culinary lab, which she said compares to commercial kitchens foun...