I'd suggest starting faculty members in the Department of English at your current college. Find out if they know of groups you may want to gain membership in. Do research on your own to find local writers' groups. These are usually found at colleges in the area or at local libraries. Also check out a relatively new website called
Creative Nonfiction Writing Forum.
As far as actual submission, that would be dependent upon what you want to submit. Some writers' clubs or groups may have their own publication to which you can submit short essays or stories or consideration. Google searches may be another option in searching for journals or quarterlies that will accept your work for consideration. Just keep in mind that you need to be aware of how the copyright will be managed. That is, will you retain full copyright on the piece? Will the publisher request limited sharing for the purposes of publishing the article? Will they expect a full share? If the last, be aware this could limit where and how you may have the material reprinted and how the royalties would be split.
As for "getting discovered," I believe this has more to do with networking than anything else. You need to be introduced to editors by other writers and those already in the field. Being able to make that happen starts with the groups and clubs I mentioned earlier. When you talk with the faculty at your current college, find out from them if they have contacts within the publishing industry who you may be able to speak with to garner more information on this topic. Just make sure when you talk with them to have a few samples of your current writing for them to review and discuss with you.
Hope this helps!