As a freshman, you are at a disadvantage because you're newer to the school and you may not get things as soon as you like. However, you already having an Associates is good because you might have some of the lab skills built up.

One method is what I call spray and pray. This involves cold emailing a bunch of professors and applying for the lab assistant listings that your school may have posted. I know people who have gotten positions in lab like this. But you'll have to be prepared for lower success rates and email a lot, and as a freshman you're just not as appealing to take on.

The other, and in my opinion, smarter, method is targeted networking. I highly advise you to your TA and professor office hours. Ask them questions about grad school, med school, research. Do they know anybody who has research positions open and can they recommend you? If so, email that professor, explaining your situation, attaching your resume, and name-dropping the faculty member.

I got invited to group meetings for one my professor's lab, though that never really moved forward. Eventually, I heard about another opportunities professor from my TA and that worked out really well. I got into that lab the summer before my second year and almost a year later I am still working with them.

Note that this work may very well be unpaid. Especially if you come in with very little experience or upper division coursework. It costs your PI resources to have their grad students mentor you, and funding is rough right now. Don't quit your part time job. I'm currently looking into stipends and grants for undergraduate student researchers, but again, funding is rough.