Dante Strollo ’20 recently visited Yale University as a recipient of the 2019 Yale-Seton Book Awards.

On Oct. 1, Strollo and 46 other Connecticut high school seniors attended Davenport College, one of 14 residential colleges on Yale’s historic campus, as part of the Yale-Seton Book Award event. The students were chosen by the Yale Book Club and representatives from their respective schools due to their “outstanding personal character and intellectual promise,” according to YaleNews.

“It means a lot,” reflected Strollo. “I work hard academically. Something on which I pride myself is my proficiency, and I always want to get better, so this was a nice reward for a hard junior year and first full year in full IB (International Baccalaureate® Diploma Programme) courses.”

As part of the award, Strollo was able to choose one book for personal use. He selected “The Yale Book of Quotations,” which is comprised of more than 12,000 famous quotations. Inside the cover is a bookplate with Strollo’s name, date of his award, Yale club sponsor, and award donor.

“All of (the books) were cool, but none really spoke to me as much as that one,” admitted Strollo. “It’s a collection—something I could read once in a while or every day. I don’t have to analyze it because I don’t really have a lot of time. I do a lot of extracurricular reading because of school, so it’s nice to have something I could look at every day—see a quotation, think about it—before going to school.”

The schools wherein the recipients are enrolled also receive a book. Cheshire Academy was awarded “The Soul of the First Amendment,” a book written by Floyd Abrams that is described as “a lively and controversial overview by the nation’s most celebrated First Amendment lawyer of the unique protections for freedom and speech in America.”

Similar to his own book, the copy of “The Soul of the First Amendment,” which can be found in the Academy’s library, has a bookplate recognizing Strollo.

“I think it’s interesting, especially in this time and political climate, to always keep in mind free speech … because it’s a very important thing,” he said. “Not everybody around the world has the opportunity to protest or express themselves.”

While at Yale, Strollo attended a panel discussion, held conversations with Yale students from around the area, and received a tour of the campus. Strollo said the discussions “provoked more interest” in the school as one he would consider applying to.

“It’s a great school overall,” Strollo said, of Yale. “(Yale is) very competitive and it has a lot of faculty with whom I could work in the field of philosophy, English literature, and possibly neuroscience. Those are the fields in which I’m interested.”

Strollo is also considering the University of Chicago, as well as other universities and colleges.