eq2 Notes
Emma Byun is an IMPACTER Ambassador and co-founder of eq2, bringing durable skills into schools in person — curiosity, perspective-taking, purpose, self-control, grit, growth mindset, compassion, gratitude. Here, she writes the same eight skills into a different room (a halftime show, a viral note, a sneaker drop) because the skill shows up there too, whether or not anyone’s grading it.
Meet Emma & eq2 →
Emma, in the room at eq2
Student Voice & Human Skills
Hey There Delilah’s TikTok Comeback: Why Gen Alpha’s Nostalgia Trip Says Everything About Purpose
Hey There Delilah’s TikTok Comeback: Why Gen Alpha’s Nostalgia Trip Says Everything About Purpose The Plain White T’s 2005 acoustic ballad “Hey There Delilah” just hit 2.8 billion streams on TikTok. Gen Alpha — kids born after 2010 — are obsessing over a song that’s older than they are. Actual comment with 847K likes: “POV: …
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Student Voice & Human Skills
The Air Jordan 3 ‘Spring is in the Air’ Drop Proves Why Curiosity Scores Beat Checkbox Surveys
The Air Jordan 3 ‘Spring is in the Air’ Drop Proves Why Curiosity Scores Beat Checkbox Surveys March 28th, 2024. 10:00 AM EST. The Air Jordan 3 Retro OG “Spring is in the Air” goes live on SNKRS. Sold out in 4 minutes, 37 seconds. But here’s what the mainstream missed: the real heat wasn’t …
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Student Voice & Human Skills
Logo Three or Life Lesson? Why Braylon Mullins’ 35-Footer Teaches Perfect Pressure Response
Logo Three or Life Lesson? Why Braylon Mullins’ 35-Footer Teaches Perfect Pressure Response March 29th, 2026. 0.4 seconds left on the clock. Braylon Mullins — a 6’4″ freshman guard from Indianapolis who averaged 6.2 points per game all season — catches the inbound pass 35 feet from the basket. UConn down 72-70 to Duke in …
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Student Voice & Human Skills
When Your Curiosity Score Hits Different Than Your Credit Score
When Your Curiosity Score Hits Different Than Your Credit Score On December 18th, 2024, Zendaya dropped her latest Dune: Part Two behind-the-scenes content, and within 6 hours it had 847,000 views on Instagram. But here’s the kicker — the comments weren’t just thirst traps and fire emojis. Thousands of Gen Z fans were genuinely dissecting …
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Student Voice & Human Skills
When K-Pop Trainees Outwork Harvard Students: The Character Competency Crisis
When K-Pop Trainees Outwork Harvard Students: The Character Competency Crisis BLACKPINK’s Jennie spent 6 years as a YG trainee. Six. Years. Daily vocal lessons, dance practice until 2 AM, language coaching, performance evaluations that could end careers. Most American high schoolers can’t stick with a hobby for 6 months. Meanwhile, our “college-ready” graduates are arriving …
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Human Skills & Social Intelligence
Your FYP is Lying to You: Why “Gatekeeping” is the Ultimate Curiosity Flex
If you’re doing what everyone else is doing, you’re already behind. In 2026, the trend cycle moves too fast to follow, and the most interesting students have figured out a secret: the algorithm is a trap. Real status isn’t found on the “For You Page” anymore. It’s found in the hyper-niche, the obscure, and the …
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Human Skills & Social Intelligence
Legacy Over Likes: Why the Super Bowl Halftime Show is a Masterclass in Purpose
If you watched the halftime show this year, you saw more than just high-end production and surprise guests. You saw a blueprint for what happens when a creator has a “North Star.” In an era where every brand and influencer is chasing the next TikTok sound or a momentary spike in the algorithm, this performance …
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Student Voice & Human Skills
Beyond the Bubble Sheet: A High-Resolution Look at Student “Lore”
In 2026, being “basic” isn’t just a fashion faux pas—it’s a data failure. On Discord and TikTok, the “Lore-Core” movement has officially taken over. It’s no longer enough to just wear a cool brand; you have to know the lore. Whether it’s a MSCHF drop that requires solving a digital riddle or a streetwear brand …
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Student Voice & Human Skills
Your 2025 “Wrapped” Is Missing the Most Important Stat
By now, you’ve seen the screenshots. You know your coworker is in the top 0.5% of Chappell Roan listeners. You know your cousin’s “listening personality” is somehow called “Vampire.” You know exactly how many minutes you spent dissociating to ambient beats at 2 AM. We love “Wrapped” because it turns behavior into identity. It proves …
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Human Skills & Social Intelligence
The “Ins & Outs” List: Why Gen Z’s Viral Note is More Than Just an Aesthetic
Open Instagram, TikTok, or X right now, and you will see the same image over and over again. The yellow background. The default serif font. The two bold headers. In / Out. The “2026 Ins & Outs” list has officially replaced the traditional New Year’s Resolution. Everyone from major streetwear brands to your quietest student …
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Human Skills & Social Intelligence
Fire, Ash, and the Classroom: What “Avatar 3” Teaches Us About Student Rage
The box office numbers for Avatar: Fire and Ash are massive, but the TikTok metrics are telling a deeper story. While James Cameron wants us to root for the peaceful, nature-loving Na’vi, Gen Z has chosen a different champion. Scroll through your “For You” page this week, and you won’t see much blue. You’ll see …
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Human Skills & Social Intelligence
Beyond Surveys: When Student Voice Becomes Evidence
In schools, we’re surrounded by data. Grades. Attendance. Benchmarks. Credits. Behavior incidents. But the skills that actually predict long-term success—self-awareness, empathy, decision-making, resilience—often get reduced to one of the weakest tools in education: the checkbox survey. And everyone knows it. Students click fast. They answer how they think adults want them to answer. They get …
Read the essayAbout Emma Byun. Emma is an IMPACTER Ambassador and co-founded eq2 — a student-led workshop for ages 6–16 that teaches emotional intelligence the way school teaches math or music: as a skill, not a personality trait. eq2’s own eight core skills — curiosity, perspective-taking, purpose, self-control, grit, growth mindset, compassion, and gratitude — are the same eight IMPACTER measures. eq2 teaches them in person, through story, art, and conversation instead of grades. This page is the writing-side extension of that same mission: real students, real culture, the same eight skills, in a different medium. Read more at eq2workshops.org — or see the full story, and the room it happens in.
About this archive. These posts used to publish at impacterpathway.com/brain-trust on WordPress. That install has been retired now that impacterpathway.com runs on this site, so all 12 posts are rescued and republished here at their original addresses. If you're looking for IMPACTER's product pages instead, start at the Newsroom or see how the measurement works.