Written By Sean Beckwith, PhD student
ST. PETERSBURG, FL – Dewey Riou III joined the USF College of Marine Science as an IT Support Specialist after working as a Computer System Specialist at FWC’s Fish and Wildlife Research Institute. His technical skills were born out of a passion for computer gaming that he has had since he was young. His father, Dewey Riou II, a 30 year veteran of the Tallahassee Police Department, helped him get set up with his first gaming website, which he has continually updated and improved over the years to become an aesthetically pleasing site complete with over 200 game reviews.
Evolution of thebuttonpresser.com. Right to left: 2012, 2014-current, and 2019 (Coming Soon)
As an undergrad student with a little extra time on his hands, Dewey was writing up
to 5 articles a day. Now, as a married man and full time worker, Dewey continues
to update the website but is more focused on the writing process and creating accurate
and descriptive articles of games he reviews. He also finds time to game a bit each
day. Fortunately for him, his wife is also a gamer, so Dewey can enjoy his hobby
while spending quality time at home, something that is very important to him.
Dewey is the third of 13 children, so family has always been a big part of his life. He’s the oldest son (hence, the “III” suffix) and, in addition to big-brothering a lot of siblings, he now has many nieces and nephews, as well. Touching base with each sibling every day would be difficult, to say the least, if it were not for social media and group chat. It’s milestones like weddings and graduations though, that he looks forward to for that all-important face-to-face contact.
These days, Dewey must meter out his gaming time (about 30 minutes or so per day) as he is actively pursuing an MBA. The online program through Northcentral University keeps him busy every night and every weekend, with a new course starting every 8 weeks. While Dewey has not chosen a specialization for his MBA, he says he will most likely focus on building his entrepreneurial skills. A year into the program, some of the biggest lessons he has learned have been about understanding people. Understanding the traits of those you’re working for, and of your colleagues and employees, Dewey shared, is paramount to success in any organization.
“It’s about being a leader in working for your team,” Dewey explained, as he recalled his lessons on teamwork and management. “Each person has needs and values, a desire to be wanted for their skills.”
Understanding people is a skill that has sparked an interest in watching Mixed Martial Arts (MMA). Dewey enjoys the story aspect of the fight events—knowing the history of the rivalries between certain fighters and what has brought them into the ring together. The high level of skill, the unpredictability, and the surprise element (one major fight lasted only 10 seconds) all contribute to Dewey’s intrigue in this sport.
An active mind with many passions, Dewey has, over the course of several years, stitched together pieces of a book he would one day like to publish. Dewey’s aspiration for the novel, which was inspired by his fascination with game characters and enhanced by his background in graphics design, is to bring characters from his imagination into a realistic physical world with rules that are not overly far-reaching. A world to which readers can actually relate. Dewey also works to develop characters digitally, as he builds mobile game apps based on favorite stories and characters that he has reimagined.
Multiple elements of graphics design have carried forward into Dewey’s life passions and into his work. One aspect that has been most beneficial, he said, has been patience in researching. The importance of patience cannot be overstated in the IT profession. Undoubtedly, a “full proof” solution will at times fail. And, having deep patience, as Dewey has found, allows him to better see the solution to the problem.