My commitment to antibiotic stewardship began long before my doctoral training, long before I even knew the term. As an undergraduate Medical Laboratory Science student concentrating in medical microbiology, I spent countless hours in diagnostic lab rotations running culture plates, reading zones of inhibition, and performing sensitivity testing for real patients.
One pattern haunted me even then: when we tested isolates from young adults, especially college students, almost every antibiotic panel showed resistance across multiple drug classes. It was always a struggle to find even one antibiotic the organism was still sensitive to. I remember standing in the micro lab one afternoon, staring at a plate with almost no clear zones, and thinking, How did we get here? How are people this young already running out of effective treatment options?
That frustration never left me. It became the spark that later shaped my public health journey.
Years later, as a Doctor of Public Health student at Texas A&M University, I finally had the chance to act on the concerns that first surfaced at the lab bench. I launched a multi-phase project to understand what drives antibiotic misuse among college students—one of the most overlooked populations in antimicrobial stewardship efforts.
Today, I am conducting a scoping review and developing a comprehensive survey to identify the factors that support or hinder students’ ability to complete their prescribed antibiotic regimens. Early findings suggest that many students transition from high school to college without the foundational knowledge to manage medications on their own. Some lack clear instructions, others juggle academic stress, chronic conditions, or limited healthcare access, and many underestimate the long-term consequences of stopping antibiotics early.
My goal is not only to describe these patterns but to translate them into action. I hope to inform policymakers, university administrators, and health educators about the urgent need to incorporate antibiotic education into first-year college curricula, before students face these decisions alone, often for the first time.
Without stronger antibiotic stewardship programs, we risk leaving an entire generation vulnerable to infections that were once easily treatable. My work is driven by the belief that empowering students with knowledge today protects the effectiveness of antibiotics for decades to come.
What began as worry over a petri dish has grown into a commitment to safeguard global health, one student, one campus, and one evidence-based intervention at a time.
