At Smith, Dianne majored in American Studies and Archive Management and lived in Conway House with her children and her extended family of Conway Adas. She was honored to serve three years on the Ada Comstock Scholars Class Cabinet. As the Ada Class President, she was awarded the Smith Student Leader of the Year. A highlight of her Smith student experience included presenting her capstone project at Reunion - 40 Years of Second Chances: The History of the Ada Comstock Scholars Program. 

After graduating from Smith, Dianne wanted to inspire and mentor other non-traditional college students. For six years, she was the Off-Site Program Coordinator at Holyoke Community College, advising and supporting students as they transferred into an accelerated bachelor’s degree completion program in partnership with Elms College. While at Elms College, she completed her Master’s in Education.

Currently, she works as an academic advisor in the Graduate and Professional Programs Department at the Isenberg School of Management, UMass Amherst and she is an adjunct professor of writing and rhetoric at Elms College. 

Dianne serves as Co-President of the Ada Comstock Alum Class (2021-2025) and she is looking forward to celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the Ada Comstock Program in 2025.