By the time she was 22-years-old, Olga Baskin was a already a doctor in Belarus. The daughter of a gynecologist (her mother heads the women’s clinic in Bobruisk) and a building engineer, Olga was motivated to succeed. She was also determined to be a Jewish leader.
“As a child I was proud of my people and my culture,” says Olga, now 27. “And when Jewish life started to bloom in Belarus, I wanted to be in the heart of it.”
Olga participated in the Jewish Agency’s Lehet counselor training course and Jewish Identity Seminars. “I began to think and look at things differently,” recalls Olga, “and I began my journey as a young Jewish leader.” That journey included working as a camp counselor in the “Netzer” youth movement, coordinating outreach to Jewish students at the Hillel House in Minsk, representing Belarus for the first time at the World Jewish Congress and attending leadership programs in North America.
“I was an ardent advocate for building young Jewish leadership in our home communities,” says Olga.
In August 2008, Olga was a
Taglit-Birthright Israel counselor when she heard about the first Masa program for medical doctors. The next month she was on the program.
“The group was together all the time, and not only did we take a special medical course, we also traveled all over Israel and really experienced Israeli life.”
During the course, the participants took their medical licensing exams, and Olga says that passing it was a turning point in her decision to build her future in Israel. Olga made aliyah in August 2009 and upon finishing her Hebrew studies, began her current position as a resident in internal medicine at the Assaf Harofeh Medical Center. Her goal is to specialize in family medicine.
“I was always on the border of Jewishness, but in Israel I feel so at home,” says Olga with a smile. “I know that my whole life is ahead of me. I want to marry and raise a Jewish family and use my skills to help my own people.”