Testimonials

Alex's mentorship has not only made me reach my career goals, but also made me better realize my worth as an academic and a person. I have learned to divide my goals into attainable smaller goals, and efficiently advance towards the goals I find most important. I have also learned a lot about networking, self presentation and the importance of true friends and supportive colleagues in academia and in life generally. I learned from Alex never to give up on my values in the quest for professional success, and that aligning my goals with my set of values only promotes success and does not hinder it. I have now attained my biggest career goal, being hired as a tenure-track professor in my university of choice, but I still lay out my future goals for myself in the way Alex taught me. I could not have had a better mentor.

Alex a été présente dans un moment où il fallait que je rencontre quelqu'un de solide scientifiquement mais aussi humainement. Elle m'a guidée sans jamais me diriger, toujours avec bienveillance et justesse. Elle a ce don que très peu de personnes possèdent : vous faire sentir que vous êtes une personne importante, que vous avez de la valeur. Tout alors est devenu possible : reprendre confiance en moi, abandonner le sentiment d'être un usurpateur, avoir envie d'avancer et de changer ce qui doit l'être en allant dans le bon sens grâce à ses conseils et à ses mots toujours justes.

Alex has helped me improve in many skills ranging from specific ones such as academic communication and networking, to fundamental ones such as career/life planning and learning abilities. Looking back, there were two key moments in my life that have shaped my path and brought me to where I am. The first one was when starting my master’s degree. Moving to a different country and having to study at such a high level in a language that was not my own was scary, but Alex was there to ensure that I could adapt to what was an unknown and challenging environment and succeed. Later on, she played a crucial role in getting me into a PhD program. With her teachings on how to proceed with thoughtful and early planning and her help polishing my research with careful and methodical work, she accompanied me through the most important moment in my academic life.

A la sortie de mes études d'ingénieur, je cherchais un stage en sciences cognitives qui ne me confine pas uniquement à du calcul sur ordinateur. Non seulement Alex m'a fait confiance pour mener une expérience de recherche dans un domaine nouveau pour moi, mais elle m'a aussi beaucoup appris par sa façon de réfléchir et d'agir en tant qu'encadrante et chercheuse. Tant par son écoute et ses questions pertinentes que par son intégrité et empathie pour les autres, elle m'a notamment transmis la conviction qu'il est réellement possible d'atteindre un haut niveau dans son activité en vivant en accord avec ses valeurs, et justement d'y arriver par cela.

Alex has been my mentor for almost a decade, and her guidance has shaped who I am, both as a professional and as a person. In Alejandrina you will find a coach who will gently but firmly push you to get to the absolute bottom of things. She is able to strike the fine balance of letting you explore but proposing directions when you get stuck. Alex inspires me both as a brillant scientist who always thinks one step ahead, and as a person. She constantly strives to improve herself by applying to herself the same scientific principles that she is coaching. Working with her is truly inspiring not least because she lives what she teaches.

Alex worked with me as an academic advisor and mentor. Alex helped me approach questions with different viewpoints than I had previously employed. While this was helpful within academia, this continued to be a boon to me when I moved into working in industry. I think this may be the greatest benefit I have gotten from working with Alex. She is able to help you improve the way you think such that it will help you in many aspects of life, not just the specific one you are currently working in.