Retiring Faculty Feature: Michelle Dionne (1996)

By ANGELA HE, ALEX LIM, and JADE YOO

After being appointed in 1996, Instructor in English Michelle Dionne spent 28 years teaching the craft of language and literature at the Academy. She has also served as a coach for the girls’ tennis and hockey teams, a dorm faculty in Langdell Hall, the dorm head in Dow House, as well as the dorm head in Browning House. In addition, Dionne has spent time on the Community Conduct and Academic Advising Committees. 

Before Exeter, Dionne taught in a little boarding school in Connecticut for about ten years and the Horace Mann School in New York. However, she found her true home and teaching environment at Exeter. 

“The Harkness pedagogy is what makes Exeter so unique,” Dionne said. “ In most places, you teach by lecturing year after year. But at Exeter, you learn something new every day along with your students. It never gets old, which is why it’s my favorite thing about teaching at Exeter.” 

“If you just let people talk and think, what you think you understand, that preconceived notion of who knows what, will get blown away and then you receive joy,” she continued. “I think that comes from seeing minds engaged and coming up with stuff and getting excited. I think that something we are so fortunate to have at Exeter is that people are excited about learning, which is not the same in every school.”

Dionne reminisced on her time spent teaching at Exeter, thinking of all the memories that had been made. “I love the English department, especially,” she stated. “We’ve always had fabulous English teachers who make such great colleagues. Every single one of them is so alive. Literature truly is the center of all of our lives.” 

Dionne’s passion for educating at Exeter truly showed through this interview, and she made her appreciation for Harkness very clear. “The table is where we learn to listen,” she said, “and our preconceptions get destroyed if we listen. Your preconceived notions will get blown away and then you, you get this joy. That’s what happens when you let people talk and listen, when twelve minds get engaged, and you witness them come up with stuff to get excited about. That’s something we are so fortunate to have at Exeter. Everyone here can get excited about a new idea, about learning. That’s not something you get to see in every school. It’s something very special. There hasn’t been a day where I haven’t been touched by that enthusiasm.”

Dionne’s students agreed on the impact of her ability to foster thought-provoking and confortable Harkness discussions. Prep Oscar Zhu credited this to her incredible patience and support: “Ms. Dionne is always patient and supportive in the classroom. In discussions, she is willing to slow down the pace to make sure that everyone is caught up with the topics.” 

For prep Thea Vaughan, Dionne was her first introduction to Harkness at Exeter, “I think we all appreciated her so much and so we all bonded over that. She was good at helping smooth entry into all Harkness classes, which I am so grateful for.” 

Prep Sophia Xue agreed, “I like the dynamics of her classes, because we do a lot more activities and discussions aside from just reading and analyzing texts.”

“She marks every small detail to help us understand how to improve our essays. Her help significantly improved my journey with English,” Zhu said.

Dionne’s support for her students has extended past the Harkness table as she taught students the essentials of composition through personal narratives and essays. Prep Sophie Morrow shared that “not only is Ms. Dionne very good at starting great Harkness discussions, but she is also extremely helpful when editing essays and papers.”

“Ms. Dionne is one of the greats,” Instructor in English Brooks Moriarty said. “She is like a Harkness Zen spiritual guide. She understands how to empower student voices, both in writing and at the table.” 

Outside of the classroom, Dionne uplifts the community with her infectious positivity and kind nature. “I’ve never seen her without a smile,” said alumna Anna Lane ‘12. “She is a source of support to students, whether she teaches them or not.”

As she now retires, Dionne hopes to have more time to spend pursuing her hobbies—carpentry, cooking, baking, golfing, and reading. “I’m going to be making myself a woodshop at my new My Vermont house and I hope to get good at it,” she shared excitedly.

From her Harkness table in Phillips Hall to the common rooms in Langdell, Dow, and Browning, Dionne’s empathy and wisdom have influenced the Academy’s community for 28 years. Although she will be deeply missed by the Exeter community, Dionne has helped to shape the English department and the lives of her students in such a way that she will always be remembered. 

“One of my favorite things about her is how she maintains a total level head through all of her work,” Moriarty added. “She’s so steady. She’s been a great mentor to a lot of people in the English Department, and we are going to miss her dearly, but she has left her mark because we have all learned so much from her.”