An interesting project we are working on here at the University of Florida is called Closing the Gap. We are taking the principles from the Elephant in the Room: Hit the Ground Running presented at the VBMA conference in Orlando this past January and are creating our own presentation called Closing the Gap. This event will be held at the Florida Veterinary Medical Association (FVMA) conference held in April this year. Many of the officers have formed a committee who have coordinated this event with administrators for the FVMA conference. The goals of this are similar to that of Elephant in the Room in that we are trying to discuss with people from private practice, industry and students topics regarding the gap between new student salaries and student loan debt, hence the name closing the gap. The format of the program as I understand it now will be roundtable with hopefully a person from industry, a private practitioner (large or small animal), at a table with student(s). We hope that our Closing the Gap will enlighten many people in the field of veterinary medicine of the struggles students face financially upon graduation from school. We would like this to be an event we are able to coordinate annually.