| May 22, 2019

Omri Bassewitch-Frenkel, Advancement Officer

Omri Bassewitch-Frenkel, Advancement Officer

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Omri Bassewitch-Frenkel graduated with a PhD in History and Classical Studies from McGill University; his dissertation focused on entrepreneurship, empiricism, and the transplantation of Asian spices in the Spanish Empire. He is currently an advancement officer at McGill University.


Q: Why did you enroll in a PhD program in the first place?

I was interested in the interaction between Spain, the New World and Asia, and wanted to undertake doctoral studies to further explore this field. Moreover, I wanted to experience studying abroad. When I received McGill’s offer, I was very excited for the opportunity to study at an institution of such caliber.

Q: What kinds of teaching experience did you get in your program?

I was a teaching assistant to three professors during five semesters. Although I had the opportunity to do that, I did not want to teach a class as an instructor, that would have meant a lost semester for my own research.

Q: What kind of financial support did you have in place?

I received a four-year fellowship that was granted to me as a part of my acceptance to McGill. As an international student, it covered my tuition fees, plus some living expenses. For my fifth year, I received another McGill fellowship. Altogether, there was two fellowships, several travel awards, and one tri-council research grant.

I was also an RA for my professor and an RA for another professor from Jewish studies.

Q: Did your supervisor or university offer any mentorship?

My supervisor’s research was in a different area, though we had things in common in the broader sense. He helped to keep me on course and with framing my work. As my research subject was so specific, I was dealing with most problems and questions on my own.

Q: Did you feel like you were part of a community during your PhD? Or that you are still part of a community?

Because I started my PhD when I was 35, my colleagues were usually 10 years younger than me, or even more. Also, after a year, I moved to the US for a year. I wasn’t really going to the pub with everyone on a regular basis, but I still have good friends from the program and I still keep in touch. Currently, am I a part of this community? I am still in touch with several of the post-docs and other colleagues from the research center I was a part of.

Q: How long did your program take? Did it feel like the right amount of time?

About five and half years. I kind of made a promise to myself: I’m not going to drag it beyond my 40th birthday. My daughter was about to be born at that time, and I just made a decision to finish writing and submit my dissertation. I believed that a PhD is not the end of research, but only the beginning of a scholar’s career.

Q: Do you feel like your doctoral work is relevant to the work you’re doing now?

My PhD is not relevant whatsoever to what I’m doing now, which involves fundraising. Quite early in my PhD, I knew that I was probably not going to have an academic career. If in the future my role would involve research management, research or analytics, the experience I got during my doctoral studies would be very relevant.

The trajectory of my life in the last seven-eight years was as such that once I arrived in Montreal, finishing my PhD was something I wanted to do regardless of my career opportunities. The only thing that I could have done to make my position better today would have been to quit after three years and get more relevant work experience. But I don’t regret it.

Q: What are your general thoughts about the PhD overall?

I think that having a PhD can be kind of a double-edged sword, because people perceive that you might be bored in some jobs because you have that kind of education. Sometimes, people that don’t have graduate degrees unjustifiably feel a bit threatened. For me the program was something that I was just doing. I did not think or expect it to be an inherent part of my career. I’m proud of what I did, but I don’t think it defines me the way other people might think.

Omri describes how having a PhD can be a double-edged sword.

Many thanks to Omri Bassewitch-Frenkel for sharing his PhD narrative! You can find more about him and his work on LinkedIn.

Omri Bassewitch-Frenkel graduated with a PhD in History and Classical Studies from McGill University; his dissertation focused on entrepreneurship, empiricism, and the transplantation of Asian spices in the Spanish Empire. He is currently an advancement officer at McGill University.


Q: Why did you enroll in a PhD program in the first place?

I was interested in the interaction between Spain, the New World and Asia, and wanted to undertake doctoral studies to further explore this field. Moreover, I wanted to experience studying abroad. When I received McGill’s offer, I was very excited for the opportunity to study at an institution of such caliber.

Q: What kinds of teaching experience did you get in your program?

I was a teaching assistant to three professors during five semesters. Although I had the opportunity to do that, I did not want to teach a class as an instructor, that would have meant a lost semester for my own research.

Q: What kind of financial support did you have in place?

I received a four-year fellowship that was granted to me as a part of my acceptance to McGill. As an international student, it covered my tuition fees, plus some living expenses. For my fifth year, I received another McGill fellowship. Altogether, there was two fellowships, several travel awards, and one tri-council research grant.

I was also an RA for my professor and an RA for another professor from Jewish studies.

Q: Did your supervisor or university offer any mentorship?

My supervisor’s research was in a different area, though we had things in common in the broader sense. He helped to keep me on course and with framing my work. As my research subject was so specific, I was dealing with most problems and questions on my own.

Q: Did you feel like you were part of a community during your PhD? Or that you are still part of a community?

Because I started my PhD when I was 35, my colleagues were usually 10 years younger than me, or even more. Also, after a year, I moved to the US for a year. I wasn’t really going to the pub with everyone on a regular basis, but I still have good friends from the program and I still keep in touch. Currently, am I a part of this community? I am still in touch with several of the post-docs and other colleagues from the research center I was a part of.

Q: How long did your program take? Did it feel like the right amount of time?

About five and half years. I kind of made a promise to myself: I’m not going to drag it beyond my 40th birthday. My daughter was about to be born at that time, and I just made a decision to finish writing and submit my dissertation. I believed that a PhD is not the end of research, but only the beginning of a scholar’s career.

Q: Do you feel like your doctoral work is relevant to the work you’re doing now?

My PhD is not relevant whatsoever to what I’m doing now, which involves fundraising. Quite early in my PhD, I knew that I was probably not going to have an academic career. If in the future my role would involve research management, research or analytics, the experience I got during my doctoral studies would be very relevant.

The trajectory of my life in the last seven-eight years was as such that once I arrived in Montreal, finishing my PhD was something I wanted to do regardless of my career opportunities. The only thing that I could have done to make my position better today would have been to quit after three years and get more relevant work experience. But I don’t regret it.

Q: What are your general thoughts about the PhD overall?

I think that having a PhD can be kind of a double-edged sword, because people perceive that you might be bored in some jobs because you have that kind of education. Sometimes, people that don’t have graduate degrees unjustifiably feel a bit threatened. For me the program was something that I was just doing. I did not think or expect it to be an inherent part of my career. I’m proud of what I did, but I don’t think it defines me the way other people might think.

Omri describes how having a PhD can be a double-edged sword.

Many thanks to Omri Bassewitch-Frenkel for sharing his PhD narrative! You can find more about him and his work on LinkedIn.

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