I was attracted to Maura S.’s college essay by the title: “Me and the Meatball Sub Pan.” I loved how delightfully random it sounded, how the words took on a rhythm of their own. The rest of the work continued to draw me in. I loved the story Maura incorporated, a subtle way to show her determination to succeed. In eloquent language, she discussed how she had to wash dishes at her summer job at the wave pool. Hers was an occupation no one wanted, but she loved scrubbing the dirtiest of pots until they shined. The pan in which meatball subs were made got especially dirty, and she cleaned it every night. “Many days, the hardened sauce refused to budge and I would need to use multiple sponges, a plethora of soap, and so much water that, by the time I was done, my shirt was soaked. I scrubbed harder and harder, until the pot had finally changed from red to its original black and every speck of sauce had been removed. I saw it as a game — the pan versus me. And I never let the marinara win. The satisfaction I felt was my prize.” She connected this by saying, “I try to approach all tasks with the same dedication that I did the meatball pan.”