Dante is pursuing a PhD in Biology and is mentored by Cris Ledon-Rettig. He investigates the molecular underpinnings of larval aggression, a behavioral and evolutionary novelty associated with the polyphenism expressed within New World spadefoot toads. A thoughtful and committed laboratory mentor, Dante led two REU students through their research projects during the summer of 2022, and so successfully that one presented her research at a national conference, where Dante continued to mentor her, introducing her to other scientists and generally helping her navigate a large conference. Dante has also mentored two IU undergraduate students since 2023, both of whom will be co-authors on the manuscript resulting from the work. Dante is currently mentoring one of those students through her honors thesis examining serotonin signaling and behavior in Xenopus tadpoles. Cris notes that Dante helps his mentees grow into independent researchers by respecting their unique inspirations and motivations and helping them design projects of their own—projects that sometimes ask questions that are new to the lab. To facilitate these projects, Dante pours himself into developing methods that are tailored to his mentees’ projects. Dante’s commitment to community outreach includes participating in Science Fest, the College’s annual science outreach event, for which he and labmate Ellie Shell developed new activities and demonstrations; hosting at-risk kids from Monroe County’s Youth Services Bureau in the lab; and participating in the Jim Holland Summer Science Research Program, in which he helped high school students from groups traditionally underrepresented in the sciences to complete a research project in the lab.