Computer Vision News - February 2018

34 Computer Vision News daily basis. I think that is extremely problematic. I think it’s something that is always in the back of everyone’s minds. The only way to succeed is to really start believing in yourself. It’s true that a lot of people don’t look like you, but you do belong. You are smart: you have everything that it takes. It’s an extra mental effort that you have to make every single day to remind yourself not to look around and just focus on what you are doing. Unfortunately, a lot of people have the privilege of not having to do that every single day, while others do. If you could fulfil any dream, what would it be? I wish there was a way for my family and my friends to be together again. It’s obviously very complicated because everyone has their dreams and aspirations that take them all across the globe. Is there one thing that you would like to change, to make our community better? STEM is very competitive in a nonproductive, toxic way. People try to get an edge over others in all sorts of ways using all sorts of methods. I’m not that sort of person. I would never do that. I can’t even see myself doing something like that. Sometimes I’m left wondering if I have what it takes to succeed because I can’t lie about my abilities. If I could change something, it would be the level of honesty of people in this field. Another aspect of our field that I would like to change is the mentoring system. I think we have truly excellent examples of mentorship in some subfields and subcommunities. For example, Women in Machine Learning have provided me with a lot of mentorship, connections, networking and encouragement! That was absolutely crucial for me to get to where I am. A lot of minorities are creating these sorts of groups. In the field, at large, there is really a lack of incentives for advisors to also be good mentors. I think to be a good advisor, you need to go far beyond checking whether a result is correct or providing a generic research direction. A lot of what it means to me to be a good advisor should be being able to provide connections in an academic world that is so cutthroat. Thankfully, my advisor, himself, has been great. I was able to network with individuals that were real career sponsors. I am absolutely thankful to them. I realize that doesn’t come as a standard for all students. This sort of system helps well-connected people advance, but doesn't necessarily let the true talents stand out. If I could change something, it would be that: to have people spend more time learning what it is to be a good mentor! Women in Science “ …spend more time learning what it is to be a good mentor! ” Michela Paganini Here and on the cover of this magazine: Michela is underground with the CMS detector.