Carolina Williams, a high school senior in Williamson, Tennessee, wowed the Yale University admissions committee with her empowering, emotional ode to the joys of ordering Papa John's pizza. Her college essay was much more meaningful than some derivative tale of a mission trip to Africa or a convoluted metaphor. No, Williams wowed the Ivy League with a story that's also the intro in many a porno.
Asked by Yale to "write about something that [she loves] to do," Williams thought deeply about her passion for pizza.
The winning essay celebrates the "feelings of independence, consolation and joy" that pizza can provide.
The sound of my doorbell starts off high, then the pitch mellows out, and the whole effect mimics an instrumental interpretation of rain finally finding a steady pace at which to fall. I have spent several minutes analyzing its tone because I have had money opportunities to do so, as one thing I love to do is order pizza and have it delivered to my house. When the delivery person rings my doorbell, I instantly morph into one of Pavlov's dogs, salivating to the sound that signals the arrival of cheesy, circular glory. It smells like celebration, as I rejoice a happy occasion by calling Papa John's for my favorite food. It tastes like comfort, since having pizza delivered to my quiet home is a way for me to unwind. It looks like self-sufficiency, because when I was younger, ordering pizza made me feel grown-up, and it still provides that satisfaction for my child at heart. Accepting those warm cardboard boxes as my front door is second nature to me, but I will always love ordering pizza because of the way the eight slices of something so ordinary are able to evoke feelings of independence, consolation, and joy.
The extraordinary salute to the ordinary resonated with the bigwigs in New Haven.
Some Yalies she met during the application process even wrote her to specifically commend her on the Papa John's prose.
A Yale admissions officer wrote: "As a fellow lover of pizza, I laughed out loud (then ordered pizza) after reading your application."
While getting into Yale is a huge accomplishment, Williams decided to enroll at Auburn University to study business, winning Auburn's prestigious Presidential Scholarship. She'll be the first person in her family to go to college.
According to the Tennessean, Williams plans to to major in business and minor in economics, and aspires to be a CEO one day. She'll make a great CEO at Papa John's.