I’m fortunate enough to be in Cupertino this week for WWDC. For me, things kicked off on Sunday, when I had the honor of visiting Apple Park to watch a selection of this year’s Swift Student Challenge Distinguished Winners present their apps to Apple executives.
Marina Lee, a senior at the University of Southern California studying Computer Science, is one of the Swift Student Challenge Distinguished Winners from the United States. Marina created an app called EvacuMate, designed to help people know what to do when faced with evacuation orders amid wildfires in Los Angeles. The app consolidates resources, including evacuation planning information, air quality updates, and more, into a centralized location for users.
Here’s a look at EvacuMate:
Tamera Middlebrooks is another Swift Student Challenge Distinguished Winner from the United States. Tamera created an app called SwayApp as a companion for physical therapy. SwayApp enables users to track their symptoms and discover more about targeted exercises to perform.
Tamera is also a student at Apple’s Detroit Developer Academy, which opened in 2021. The program aims to equip participants with a range of skills and training to develop iOS apps and beyond.
Here’s a look at SwayApp:
During the special event on Sunday, Tamera, Marina, and their fellow Swift Student Challenge Distinguished Winners from around the world had the unique chance to present their apps to members of the press and Apple executives. At first, Tamera and Marina thought they’d be presenting to Susan Prescott, Apple’s vice president of worldwide developer relations. Little did they know, however, that Apple CEO Tim Cook would make a surprise appearance.
I had the wonderful opportunity to sit down with Marina and Tamera after the WWDC keynote today to learn more about their apps and what it’s like presenting to Apple’s CEO.
It was an incredibly enlightening experience to hear from both of them about the personal stories that led to the creation of their apps. As someone who has been covering Apple for over a decade, I find it so invigorating to hear the next generation of developers share what they’re working on. Of all the wonderful opportunities I’ve been given at WWDC, this is undoubtedly the highlight.
You can read the full interview below.
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