Class of 2019 First-Year Fellow: Rick Dionne

Rick Dionne grew up in Cambridge, Massachusetts and graduated from Milton Academy, where he was captain of the Debate and Cross Country teams and a national semifinalist in Congressional Debate. At Dartmouth, Rick is a double major in Mathematics and Computer Science. He is also the President of the Parliamentary Debate Team, a teaching assistant in the CS Department, and a Jack Byrne Scholar.

As part of the 2016 First-Year Fellows cohort, Rick worked for the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, a non-partisan budget and deficit watchdog, where he specialized in producing interactive web content. Rick’s FYF mentor was Cathy Solomon ’82.

During the summer, Rick was able to put his data analysis and web development skills to good use by designing the web-app for a new interactive “Debt-Fixer” tool that CRFB recently launched. With this tool, users can see for themselves the significant adjustments needed in order to put our national debt on a sustainable path.

“I’m very thankful both for the skills I’ve been able to develop and for the professional experience that this fellowship has given me,” says Rick. “My work at CRFB has taught me valuable data analysis and web development skills, which will serve me well in my Computer Science major.”

After leaving Dartmouth, Rick hopes to attend graduate school in Computer Science and pursue a career in software development.