FABI’s Profs Mike and Brenda Wingfield and Dr Nam Pham, currently on sabbatical at the University of Florida, recently had the great opportunity to attend and participate in a two day-long graduate student symposium.  This annual event was also linked to a day-long engagement entitled “Plants get sick too” aimed at providing selected Florida high school teachers with an intensive exposure to the field of Plant Pathology.  The first day of the symposium ended with paired guest lectures by Mike and Brenda entitled “Two careers in plant pathology: Personal insights and perspectives”.  They were also joined a group of plant pathologists representing the academia, industry and government in a panel discussion focused on careers in plant pathology. The symposium provided a perfect exposure for Brenda, Mike and Nam of the outstanding research being conducted by students in the Department, now the largest of its kind in the USA. Likewise, the high school teacher engagement, organized and led by postgraduate students illustrated the importance of engaging with educators able to expose learners to plant pathology at an early stage of their lives.