As I prepare for college, I would like to do more to network myself and build my career. I currently plan to go into academia and specialize in programming language theory. I have a common western first name and a common foreign last name. When I search up my name (first and last), the top results are a computer scientist at UBC who shares my first name, last name, and middle initial! What's more, this person appears to specialize in formal verification, which overlaps with PL theory.
What can I do to distinguish myself? In addition, should I worry about discrimination for having a foreign last name?
Should I invent an alias or nickname for myself?