Innovation doesn’t always come easy, but to new Cal High assistant principal, Azine Davoudzadeh, it’s worth the struggle.
During her time as an educator and administrator at Dougherty Valley High, Davoudzadeh accomplished technological feats such as designing a low-cost fire detector that won the school $100,000 in Samsung’s Solve for Tomorrow innovation competition.
Davoudzadeh used the money to better her Extended Reality (XR) projects at Dougherty and create a class called XR for Social Good, where students could learn about real-life applications to VR.
Now, Davoudzadeh is one of two new assistant principals working at Cal this year. Her responsibilities include overseeing the Class of 2026 and the technology department.
She also works closely with the rest of the administration team on solving school-wide issues, such as creating a new system for student support with assistant principal Jeff Osborn.
Davoudzadeh excels at bringing new ideas to the table, according to Osborn.
“I’m thinking specifically on this new tutorial program we’re doing and she just wants it to be the best,” Osborn said. “She doesn’t just want to do the same old thing. She’s creative and innovative.”
Before coming to Cal, Davoudzadeh taught computer science at Dougherty. She earned a degree in virtual reality before working in the Bay Area as a teacher.
“What I can say about the time I’ve been here at Cal is that we have a diverse student population,” Davoudzadeh said. “And I think that’s really unique in a school.”
Outside of school, Davoudzadeh’s biggest interest lies in the virtual world. With a degree in virtual reality in education, she formed a community of students with similar interests at Dougherty.
Together, the group worked on new ways to implement VR technology in school curriculums, eventually starting an XR club that Davoudzadeh advised. She encouraged club members to think outside of the box and explore the virtual world.
“I learned a lot from her,” current Dougherty XR club president Mitali Mittal said. “And I feel pretty confident about becoming a president because I think that I can kind of follow in her footsteps.”
The XR club entered the Samsung Solve for Tomorrow competition with their invention of a low-cost fire detector and won the competition’s top prize.
Davoudzadeh doesn’t plan to stop innovating and working with VR. She’s thinking about starting a chapter of the XR club at Cal and has already been approached by students who are interested in the subject.
She also hopes to build an innovation center where students can learn about and work on VR and XR projects, giving students more resources to further their education.
“Davoudzadeh brings a lot of knowledge and resources to our team,” assistant principal Samuel McClymont said. “She wants to make sure that she has a full view of what’s happening before she jumps into a situation.”