Annual conferences provide opportunities for students to learn from leaders in their field, interact with industry professionals and present original research. Based on attendance at World Aquaculture 2019, two undergraduate and one graduate student from Auburn University share their perspectives about the conference here. Two undergraduate students were able to relate the research methods learned in a classroom setting to real-world aquaculture applications and found attending presentations as a means to better understand what is required to present original research on an international level, while a graduate student was able to present their research to leaders in the field and interact with industry professionals to develop new avenues of research and enhance their professional network. All three students found the annual meeting to be a beneficial experience in their professional development and strongly encourage other students to attend future meetings.