Like many community college students, Diane Bonner, 61, works full time and has a family. So when she took an extended break from school to take care of family issues, she received a phone call.

Dr. Anghesom Atsbaha, director of DePaul University’s Adult Bridge Program, called to check in.

“He said, ‘Is your vacation over? I have a class starting next week, and I expect to see you there,’” Bonner recalls. “My friends were saying, ‘I’ve never heard of a professor calling a student.’ He didn’t ask me, he told me. There’s a difference. He pretty much told me my vacation was over.”

DePaul’s Bridge program has been helping adult learners make a smooth transition from Harry S. Truman City College to the four-year university for the last 15 years. Its unique approach to instruction, student advising and financial aid has made it a success with traditionally underserved populations of Illinois. The program prepares students in the city college setting until they are ready to transition over to DePaul, allowing students to take classes at the two-year Truman College, taught by both Truman and DePaul faculty, while earning credits toward a bachelor’s degree from DePaul’s School for New Learning. The program also provides intensive academic, professional and personal advising that follows each student until they have successfully crossed the bridge and received their degree from DePaul.

Atsbaha has been working with the program since its inception in 1993. He says the idea for the program grew out of the fact that traditionally there was little support and guidance for adult students who were attempting to transfer from a community college to a four-year institution.

“Getting them in the door is not good enough. Students need help beyond providing them with an application,” says Atsbaha.

Atsbaha, or “Dr. A” as many of his students call him, is the driving force behind the program. He works 15-hour days meeting with prospective students, advising current students and teaching Bridge courses.