Can you share your most memorable experience during your time with the yESTRO committee?

My best memory is the overall feeling of belonging to a group of professionals with whom you can have heavy discussions and an hour later enjoy dinner together with banter and laughter. The whole committee is enthusiastic and willing to work to make things better, and there is equality that trumps profession. This is something I will miss dearly.

What do you consider your most significant contribution or achievement while serving on the committee?

During my time on the committee, we published papers about the PRO-BONO study, which considered burnout in the profession. We started to raise awareness about diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) through papers, statements and sessions during the young track of ESTRO congresses. Two committee members spearheaded the mentoring programme successfully. The young committee has one of the most read parts of the newsletter. I liked the format of interviews with ESTRO office staff very much. Last but not least, yESTRO started the movement within ESTRO to have a formal process to apply to become a committee member. But all of these achievements were carried by the whole group, by everyone who was on the committee when I joined and by everyone who is part of the committee now.

How has being a part of yESTRO influenced your professional development and career path?

About a year after I joined the committee I became head of the department in my hospital in Zurich, Switzerland. I have always envisioned taking this opportunity when the timing was right. I think being part of yESTRO and seeing others within the ESTRO community has helped me to gain strength to be ready to lead a team.

Being part of yESTRO has helped me very much in terms of my ESTRO career. I was invited to be a teacher in the stereotactic body radiotherapy course. I enjoyed this privilege for three years, two of them online. After that, I continued to be part of the positioning and immobilisation course for radiation therapists within the ESTRO School. I co-organised a pre-meeting course for the annual congress in 2023 with the former chair of the yESTRO committee, Pierfrancesco Franco. This was a very successful course, which drew over 60 participants who wanted to work across disciplines and to learn about all the facets that are needed to ready our professions for the future. I am grateful to ESTRO and especially yESTRO for these opportunities.

What challenges did you encounter during your time with the yESTRO committee, and how did you overcome them?

I have been asked what is young, who qualifies and why do we need the yESTRO section more times than I can count. With the whole committee, led by Steven Petit, we created a strategy to explain what young is, what we stand for and what we want to achieve in the coming year.

We established a procedure to fill new-member vacancies on the committee, in which we asked for people who were under 36 years old or who had been awarded their degree or PhD a maximum of five to ten years previously to apply. More importantly, we gave everyone the option to explain why they sought to apply if these criteria were not met, for example, due to career breaks or changes. I have been repeating this message with all the members, and word is slowly starting to spread.

Can you share any particular project or initiative within yESTRO that you are especially proud of?

I am proud of all the projects in which yESTRO has participated and or that it has brought to the attention of the whole ESTRO society. Most of all I am proud of the productivity of this committee. Some work I have already mentioned; for example, the mentoring programme spearheaded by Jolien Heukelom and Steven Petit, which is an established programme now. Others are raising awareness of DEI and creating the format for vacancies, which has been adopted by several committees and focus groups; the young track at the annual congress; the PRO-BONO study; the young dinner at the ESTRO annual congress; creating our strategy and keeping up with it, continuously reflecting and trying to find unmet needs.

How do you envision the future of yESTRO, and what advice would you give to new members of the committee?

Ask the questions that are on the tip of your tongue; more often than not you are voicing an opinion that is shared by many. This group has created an open environment in which everyone is welcome to discuss, raise concerns and openly constructively question policy.

What role do you think yESTRO plays in supporting the young community within ESTRO?

I think yESTRO has a connecting factor, due to its interdisciplinary nature. Therefore issues that (may) affect the whole branch are raised by this committee. Through this, the young community gets a voice. The young dinner at the annual congress is a way of supporting and connecting young members and first-timers at the congress.

Are there any key lessons or takeaways from your time with yESTRO that you would like to share?

I will cherish the friendship bonds that have been made in this time forever. I am looking forward to seeing those who have been part of this committee before me and with me back at the ESTRO events. Reminiscing about the past five years is making me smile and also makes me sad not to be part of this wonderful group anymore. I think we need to plan a reunion for former yESTRO committee members soon. I want to end by saying thank you and keep following the yESTRO committee because I am sure that more exciting projects will come up and be spread over ESTRO.

Sophie Perryck

Chief radiation therapist 
University Hospital of Zurich
Zurich, Switzerland