Tongues were burned. Questions were answered. Tastebuds sacrificed their lives.

Ever heard of Hot Ones? Well, Burning Questions does it better (I’m biased). 

A couple of weeks ago, Taylor, Silas, and I had the opportunity to eat chicken wings (tater tots for me) doused in progressively hotter sauces—all while asking Paul Ledesma, Director of Undergraduate Admissions at USC Viterbi, questions about Viterbi and Viterbi admissions. Given that a solid 75% of my personality is that I have a high spice tolerance, I was super excited (and somewhat scared) to try my luck at the hot sauces (working up to Da Bomb, rated at a non-trivial 🔥135,600 Scovilles 🔥). 

As expected, the experience was super entertaining. . .tears were definitely shed. I was surprised that all of us had such high spice tolerances—it took a bit to feel the burn. I realized that my tastebuds are probably broken because none of the sauces really affected me, but it could have been because I didn’t have to talk very much—Paul choking out a full answer to the last question immediately after consuming a chicken nugget soaked in Da Bomb sauce was honestly admirable. If you want to witness an emotional rollercoaster equipped with tears, important admissions information, and lots of milk, definitely check out our newest Burning Questions video on our YouTube page!

Neha Yadav

Neha Yadav

MAJOR: Biomedical Engineering YEAR: Class of 2023 HOMETOWN: Benicia, California PRONOUNS: she/her/hers INSTA: @nehaha.838 On campus, I'm a project manager for Engineers Without Borders, on the Associated Students of Biomedical Engineering Executive Board, and a researcher at the USC Biomedical Microsystems Laboratory. I have some experience in entrepreneurship—I won the Min Family Social Entrepreneurship Challenge in 2020 and interned at two startups last summer. In my free time, I love reading, hiking, and road-tripping!