Going Back To College, Please Help

Throughout my years in school I was always a shy kid. I rarely talked to people and I barely had any friends. However in sophomore year of high school I became friends with someone who encouraged me to talk more. Because of him I was able to communicate more with people and create friendships at school. Even though I was able to communicate with people at high school, I still didn't have a social life outside of school. I only met my friends at school and texted them outside of school. Also I still didn't have the courage to talk to my crush.

Last semester was my first semester in community college, it is still closer to home than my high school is and my friend who encouraged goes there to. We didn't have any classes together last semester and this semester we have one class. It was tough for me to meet any new people because most of the people I met had already established friendships with other people. My Dad always told me that college is like a fresh start because mostly everybody doesn't know who you are.

So here's my question, how do I meet new people and establish friendships with them in order to create a social life? Also if there's a cute girl that I like what do I do to engage in conversation with her, what do I talk to her about, and how do I eventually go and ask her out?