Apple is known worldwide for its wildly popular electronic products—and the world anxiously anticipates Apple's announcements. So imagine the surprise when Apple says it likes what we do.

Apple’s visit to Beaver Area High School October 23 has its roots in the one-to-one iPad initiative which put iPads in the hands of every Beaver Area middle and high school student. In fact, one of the two Apple representatives to attend was the man who originally introduced the one-to-one iPads concept.

As Mr. James Shay, the district's director of technology, explained, the Apple representative brought his colleague to Beaver Area to demonstrate the success he had seen in using iPads in schools.

(For reasons of personal privacy, neither Apple representative can be named per Apple’s request.)

Upon arriving, the reps met with sophomores Madelyn Giamo and Elena Kazas who gave them a tour of the tech room, specifically the Help Desk. Then, they met in the tech room with Mr. Shay and STAP students, with each student giving a unique presentation based on their role in the program.

The tech program is structured around departments, with each department being headed by an STAP student, with other students working alongside them. The department heads were the ones to attend and present at the meeting.

"They [the reps] were very easy to present to and very welcoming," said senior Aaron Kovacs.

When they arrived, the Apple representatives certainly saw the impressive school they were told about.

"They [the reps] were really impressed with the fact that we have students doing adult jobs, and not only that, it’s not only about the tech—it’s the leadership, the speaking, the presentation. That’s what they were really impressed by," said Mr. Shay.

According to the students who participated, the meeting was a resounding success.

"I think everyone did really well! The presentation was well-put-together and the Apple reps seemed super into it, so I would totally call it a success," said Giamo.

Sophomore Zane Kelley was surprised the meeting happened at all.

"The part of it that was interesting to me was that they were coming to see our small-town school," he stated.

According to some sources, Apple considers Beaver Area the “it” school of student-managed one-to-one computing

Despite the meeting having just ended about a week ago, Mr. Shay is already looking to the future.

"There are some schools that [the Apple representative] wants to bring down. He wants to bring a couple schools to see us."

However, don’t expect Apple to get involved in the high school's affairs or make special demands as a result of the meeting.

"They’re not really the type to get involved," said Mr. Shay.

But no matter what changes the tech program undergoes, we can trust that they will take Apple's motto of "Think Different" to heart.