A divorced mother of four, Agnes Payne knew she needed a college degree to support her family. Her résumé looked good – packed with lots of life and work experience – but she was missing that all-important college degree.

Then she learned about the DePaul Adult Bridge Program, a partnership that helps students at Harry S. Truman College get their bachelor’s degrees through DePaul’s School for New Learning (SNL). Started in 1993, the program expanded to Wilbur Wright College in fall 2007, and plans are under way to expand the program to other city colleges.

“This program has opened many doors for me. I learned that I can do what I want to do,” said Payne, an art and computer teacher at St. Margaret Mary Catholic School in Rogers Park. “It gave me the courage to step up and follow my dreams.” Through the program, Payne graduated from SNL with a B.A. in business administration in June 2000.

Now Payne is pursuing her true love – jazz singing – and plans to come out with a second album. “I think the most important things about this program are the professors and the people you meet. It just enhances everything about you as a person,” she said.

To celebrate and reflect on the program’s success, a special event will be held from 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 26, at DePaul’s Student Center, 2250 N. Sheffield Ave., Chicago. The keynote speaker for the event is Deidra Lewis, executive vice chancellor of academic affairs at City Colleges of Chicago.

“For many students, transferring from the community college is the only way for them to realize the goal of earning their bachelor’s degree,” Lewis said. “The 15-year partnership between Truman College and DePaul University has proven to be a model program with the appropriate ingredients from both institutions to assist students in matriculating through the bachelor’s degree.”

The summit will include two panels, one featuring several bridge program alumni who have gone on to obtain their master’s and law degrees, and the other discussing the importance of the program’s advising component. Awards also will be presented at the summit.

The bridge program is a unique collaboration that connects Truman and Wright colleges with SNL, which expressly caters to the needs of adult students. The program helps students make a smooth transition from a two-year community college to a four-year university.

Serving more than 800 students since its creation, the bridge program provides students with intense academic advising, mentoring and support before, during and after their transition from Truman or Wright to DePaul. The program provides community college students an opportunity to test their learning skills and interests against the expectations of a four-year college while receiving credit for academic achievement at Truman or Wright.

Students in the program must be older than 24 and studying at Truman or Wright. Many of the participants are economically disadvantaged or minorities. Currently, 150 students are involved in the bridge program at some level, with about 15 enrolled in SNL. The semester courses are team-taught by professors from Truman or Wright and DePaul, with the first half of the course taught at the community college, and the second half taught at DePaul. DePaul students also have taken the courses.

“The bridge program succeeds where others have failed because it makes the transition from a two-year college to the university setting comfortable, affordable and dependable for students,” said Anghesom Atsbaha, director the bridge program at DePaul. “The bridge program both encourages and empowers students.”

For more information about the program or the summit, call (312) 362-5193 or e-mail snlbridge@depaul.edu.