Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference in Cupertino kicks off tomorrow, and for a select group of Swift Student Challenge winners, the surprises have already begun.

This year Apple invited 50 Distinguished Swift Student Challenge winners to WWDC, and Tim Cook gave a surprise welcome to this special group of developers.

For an even smaller number of students, there was a once-in-a-lifetime experience unknowingly awaiting them: showing off their work to the CEO of Apple.

Inaugural group of 50 Distinguished Swift Student Challenge winners

Each year, Apple selects 350 winners for its annual Swift Student Challenge. This WWDC student initiative gives developers a unique experience that promotes growth, entrepreneurship, and networking with like-minded coders.

New this year is access to special WWDC experiences at Apple Park for 50 select student winners. The three-day event began on Sunday at the storied Town Hall venue at the Infinite Loop campus.

Surrounded by towering portraits of and quotes by the late Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, students from more than 35 countries filled seats in the theater where Jobs unveiled products including the original iPod, iPhone, iPad, and MacBook Air.

Esther Hare, senior director of Worldwide Developer Marketing, welcomed the inaugural group of 50 Distinguished Swift Student Challenge winners before welcoming two special guests.

First, Susan Prescott, vice president of Worldwide Developer Relations, joked that students may need noise-canceling AirPods Pro if she used the mic. The excitement in the theater was already real, then Prescott announced the next presenter.

David Letterman’s “my next guest needs no introduction” line would be appropriate for this audience considering it was Apple CEO Tim Cook.

Cook greeted students with his usual opener, which has become a meme among fans. “Good morning,” Cook declared before hyping up WWDC 2024. “It’s a big one.”

A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity

Earlier in the morning, an even more select group of students were paid a surprise visit by Tim Cook. A dozen students were selected to present their winning app submission to Susan Prescott. After a brief fake out by Prescott, a surprise visitor wandered into the room.

It turns out the 14 students were actually there to present their work to Apple CEO Tim Cook. No pressure! Each student rose to the occasion without fail. One student admitted that they were nervous before Cook reassured them by sharing that he was as well.

Dezmond Blair, 22, gave the first presentation to Cook with great enthusiasm. Blair’s app, MTB-XTREME, was inspired by his urge to share his experience biking outdoors in Michigan. Cook declared that the MTB-XTREME experience needs to be on Apple Vision Pro.

AJ Nettles, 21, who comes from Cook’s home state of Alabama, bonded with the Apple CEO over their shared roots. His CryptOH? app presentation included a demo of how easily a five-character password could be decrypted using his iPad. Nettles was inspired to make CryptOH? as a way to educate others about the importance of strong, unique passwords.

Elena Galluzo, 22, of Canada, created and presented Care Capsule, an app to assist anyone in caring for the elderly. The app is a tool for managing meds and tasks, accessing relevant resources, and capturing memories. There is even an interactive chatbot to help Care Capsule users provide necessary care to the elderly. I was the primary caregiver for my late grandmother when I was 22, so I was struck by both the vision and delivery of the app from someone currently that age.

Shinbone Lee, 22, of Korea, started coding in Swift less than a year ago. Today, she presented her app, Melody, to the CEO of Apple. Lee used finger gestures to perform melodies without touching the keys. I definitely mouthed “whoa” at this point, especially considering it was running on the Mac. This is another application you can imagine on Apple Vision Pro.

Wit Owczarek, 18, of Poland, demonstrated a unique iPad application called Pushaton that bridges the worlds of gaming and fitness. The presentation included a unique experience for the developer: performing a set of push-ups for the CEO of Apple.

That’s because the character in the game is motivated by the user performing push-ups in real life. His app is tuned for push-up detection as part of the game mechanics. No doubt Owczarek is destined to make the next viral fitness challenge.

A feeling of electricity

In 2020, a global pandemic forced Apple to convert its Worldwide Developers Conference from a massive, in-person gathering of thousands of developers to something completely remote. The keynote presentation production has been cinematic and imaginative from the beginning.

More recently, Apple has shifted to a hybrid approach. WWDC includes a highly produced keynote address that developers experience, whether at home or at Apple Park, but there’s real electricity to the in-person elements.

Conveying that energy through video is challenging, but live presentations do help. Ultimately, the developer opportunity, not the keynote format, is the real product.

For those fortunate enough to be in attendance, however, the electricity is unmatched. That’s the real reward. Each Swift Student Challenge winner will undoubtedly bottle up the energy from today, use it to power their passion, and create the best work of their lives.

That’s something I’ll be thinking about going forward as I consider Apple’s hybrid WWDC.

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