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.
Full interview Chance Miller Both of you thought you were presenting to Susan Prescott, but then you got a surprise guest.Tim Cook walked in.Were you expecting that? Marina Lee (EvacuMate) No.
They said surprise guest, and for a second, I was like maybe it’ll be him, but I didn’t think so.Chance Were you nervous when you saw him walk in? Were you excited to show him what you had? Marina For me, definitely.I was already a little bit nervous because I was presenting to Susan, and she’s the VP, and she’s been such a big inspiration to me.
But after seeing Tim walk in, I got a bit more nervous.But once I started talking to them, my nerves kind of went away because they’re just really friendly and really easy to talk to.That was a really exciting experience.
Chance You mentioned some of the personal inspiration behind EvacuMate during your presentation, about how you were inspired by your grandma? Marina Yeah, yeah.So for someone who’s grown up in LA, I’ve always kind of felt aware of the wildfire risk that comes with living in the area.But my grandma told me that she received an evacuation alert on her phone, and when she was calling me, she felt very overwhelmed and kind of uncertain about what to do or where to go.
I realized how many others might be facing the same confusion and fear because I have a lot of friends and family in that area, and that really inspired me to build the app.Chance Tamera, you have some personal motivation behind SwayApp, too, to help you manage your vestibular migraines? Tamera Middlebrooks (SwayApp) Yeah, yeah.I got diagnosed with it back in 2020 after I was experiencing really debilitating symptoms for a long time.
I did physical therapy after I got diagnosed, and they said like, ‘download this app and you can use it to continue trying to manage the symptoms and stuff.’ The app itself and the kind of exercises were helpful, but the actual interface and experience were not great.So I decided to build something that I would want to use, and also other people in a similar position.Chance That’s one of the things I love hearing about, is when people have something in their life that prompts them to go out and either try an app and be like, ‘okay, this is good but it doesn’t quite tick all the boxes for me.’ That’s one of the things that is so great about the App Store.
Chance Tamera, you’ve been a student at Apple’s Detroit Developer Academy.What has that experience been like? What are the community and connections you get from that? Tamera It’s been a really good experience because when I first learned how to code, it was like an entirely virtual boot camp.There were nice people to chat with, I guess.
The in-person experience at Apple’s Detroit Developer Academy is better.Being able to meet with people who have that similar passion and background.I was just saying to someone that the relationships I’ve built have been the best part overall.
The technical skill is, of course, important, but I want to continue the connections I’ve made personally and professionally.It’s been a really good, important part of the journey.Chance That’s great.
Are you based in Detroit? Tamera Yep.Chance I’m actually moving to Michigan in a couple of weeks.Tamera Really? Chance To Kalamazoo.
Tamera Oh nice, are you excited? Chance Yeah, we are.I was actually joking yesterday that whenever Tim makes his visit to the Detroit Academy, he needs to bring me along as a plus-one.Tamera Yeah, he better.
Yeah, that’d be fun.Chance So both of you have the honor of being the distinguished winners of the Swift Student Challenge this year.Marina, what does that mean for you? How has that changed your thinking about the future of EvacuMate? Marina I think being named a distinguished winner definitely gives me a lot of motivation to continue along with my coding journey.
Just thinking about where I started back in middle school when I first started coding, and now to where I am today, it’s been such an honor to be able to be named a distinguished winner and come to WWDC in person.That just really means a lot to me.I really hope that I can share that message with the world and hopefully inspire the future generation, or the future class, of Swift Student Challenge winners to be inspired to create their own apps about things that they’re passionate about.
Chance Tamera, what about you and SwayApp? Tamera It’s been really exciting to be named the Distinguished Winner, because it’s just a nice feeling when you put so much effort into something you’re really passionate about.Chance It’s validating.Tamera Yeah, like they recognize it and stuff like that.
It’s been a really good feeling.I feel like I’m in a similar position as Marina, where I really hope that the app, once I do launch it someday, it really does have value for people.And that it can inspire other people with chronic conditions to believe in that they can build something to help other people in a similar position.
Chance We all just watched the keynote and saw iOS 26 with its new design and new developer tools.How is that impacting what you all plan to do in the coming months and further into the future? Marina I think, definitely for me, when I’ve been learning Swift, it’s mostly just been like iOS apps on mobile phones.But I’ve seen a lot of the updates were integrating across different platforms like macOS and iOS, so I hope to make more apps that cater to multiple devices at once.
I think that would be really cool.Tamera I agree with that, and then also they mentioned like a couple of new APIs that they’re going to be adding.Things like that are always really helpful.
Chance Yeah, and you’ll learn more throughout the week, too.One of the best parts about WWDC is the State of the Union.Then you have all the labs and sessions.
We’ll all be learning a lot more over the rest of the week and into the summer.It’s a really wonderful experience, and I’m so glad you all are here to experience it.It was so great to meet both of you.
And huge congratulations again.Tim Cook’s comments “It was such an honor to meet Tamera, and we’re proud to support her journey through the Apple Developer Academy in Detroit.The way she’s turned her personal experience into something that helps others is truly inspiring,” Cook said after watching Tamera present SwayApp.
“Tamera’s ingenuity and values embody the promise of the next generation of American developers and the meaningful impact they’re making in people’s lives.” “Developers across America are innovating every day to build amazing apps that improve people’s lives, and Apple is committed to supporting their work.It was wonderful to meet Marina, because she demonstrates what’s possible when coders use their skills to make a difference in their communities — including her hometown of Los Angeles,” Cook said after seeing Marina’s EvacuMate app.“Her app could be a great resource for people at times when they need it most, and I can’t wait to see what she does next.” Follow Chance: Threads, Bluesky, Instagram, and Mastodon. You’re reading 9to5Mac — experts who break news about Apple and its surrounding ecosystem, day after day.
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