Continuing on its mission to be a force for good in the world, Texas A&M University was recently recognized with a 2026 Civic Engagement and Community Service Award from Insight Into Academia magazine, the largest and oldest publication defining and advancing best practices in higher education.
Texas A&M’s BUILD program was highlighted in the “Mentorship in Action: Relationships Across Generations and Communities” category. The April 2026 issue of Insight Into Academia magazine featured BUILD alongside just 51 other winning programs from across the nation.
“Higher education has always been a driving force in societal progress,” said Holly Mendelson, owner and publisher of Insight Into Academia magazine. “These institutions remind us that the true measure of higher education lies not only in the degrees awarded, but in the lives they uplift. Their leadership strengthens communities, inspires students and sets a standard of excellence for all.”
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Founded in 2013, BUILD is a student-led organization whose mission is to unite Aggie students from all walks of life through participation in a universitywide service project. BUILD’s signature project involves transforming 40-foot shipping containers into fully functional Texas Aggie Medical Clinics (TAMCs) that facilitate the delivery of healthcare to medically underserved communities in rural Texas, across the nation and beyond.
Since BUILD’s inception, student volunteers have raised close to $2 million in donations and in-kind contributions and recruited more than 20,000 fellow Aggie students to construct 60 TAMCs. Following their deployment, these TAMCs have helped bring healthcare access to communities in Texas and 22 developing countries.
“It was awesome to learn that BUILD students were recently honored by receiving such a prestigious service award from Insight Into Academia magazine,” said faculty adviser Dr. Gordon Carstens, a Texas A&M professor of animal nutrition in the Department of Animal Science.
“Beyond transforming shipping containers into medical clinics that have impacted countless lives around the world, BUILD also transforms students into future community leaders,” Carstens added. “BUILD provides a ‘leadership laboratory’ where students gain tangible, real-world experience in complex project management and develop soft skills that will be invaluable to them as they launch their careers. Moreover, BUILD has embodied the Aggie Core Value of selfless service on a major scale that will prepare students for future civic engagement.”
Serving rural communities in Texas
Seeing the good the BUILD team was able to achieve with the TAMCs, Curtis Donaldson ’81, executive director of the Rural Medicine Program at the Naresh K. Vashisht College of Medicine and director of community engagement in rural Texas for Texas A&M, had an idea for how the team’s work could help Texans in isolated rural communities with no nearby healthcare facilities.
“Many rural Texans struggle with access to quality healthcare due to provider shortages, transportation issues, distance to clinics and other factors,” said Donaldson. “When I saw the work BUILD was doing globally to reach populations with limited healthcare options, it made total sense to apply the same model to support our neighbors across the state.”
Four TAMCs have been delivered to rural communities across Texas. With the help of BUILD and Texas A&M, these communities now have access to telehealth and telecounseling capabilities.
The Civic Engagement and Community Service Award recognizes institutions’ innovative service and deep community collaboration in volunteerism, fundraising efforts for community causes, advocacy and public education, civic participation, voter engagement and more.
The full list of the winners of the 2026 Civic Engagement and Community Service Award is available online.
