Retail Fraud / Shoplifting: Shoplifting At Macys, Virginia

My question involves criminal law for the state of: Virginia (I am 18 years old)

I was caught shoplifting an item priced around six dollars at Macys by two employees who identified themselves as loss prevention personnels. I was taken to the back office where they had me sign a couple of papers. This is my first offense so I was not aware of what the papers mean necessarily. I gave them my information (add, phone, name, dob, ssn, etc) and they took pictures of the stolen item and of me. The police arrived later and I was placed under arrest in handcuffs. They informed me that this was a class 1 misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail and fines of up to $2,500. I was taken down to the police station for mugshots and fingerprinting and received my arrest warrent and was given an arraignment for the next morning. The arresting officers told me that since it was my first offense, I will probably receive a lesser punishment (I really do hope so), but also that this will stay on my record permanently =(. At my arraignment today, I was appointed a public defender with a court date coming up. I am worried sick about how this will affect my future with college this upcoming fall and future employment etc. I realized that I have made a mistake and I will do everything that is asked of me to make amends. I am wondering what kind of charges are normally given for class 1 misdemeanors for fist time offenders in Virginia? Also, I heard that if I receive probation/fines/community service or (diversion) that I may have this criminal record expunged. Is this something that I can work out with my attorney?

Any advise would be greatly appreciated, Thank you in advance.