HOUSTON � Shipping containers get all sorts of uses these days, but Texas A&M students are working together to “BUILD” something very special.

“Mobile medical clinics out of shipping containers,� A&M senior Abby Launikitis, of Cypress, said.

She’s this year�s CEO of the student-run organization actually called BUILD.

It grew from an idea to unify the campus through a work project after the bonfire collapse tragedy.

“And we�ve done containers ever since then,” said Launikitis. “I believe after this fall we will have finished 32 containers.

A shipping container clinic was dedicated in Jordan earlier this year while others serve various needs in Guatemala, Costa Rica, Honduras and elsewhere.

“Maybe it�s a shot clinic, maybe it�s a full medical exam room, maybe they just use the container as an educational opportunity,” said COO and mechanical engineering student Roger Stark. “A base to have other programs out of.�

Volunteers build out the containers every fall semester while planning and raising money in the spring and summer.

A&M provides a construction site. However, the $100,000 annual goal comes entirely from donations.

“That�s why we love doing these interviews because one of our biggest donors this year hears about us through a Texas A&M magazine,� said CFO and graduate student Ivan Rivas.

A number of shipping container clinics recently supplemented hospitals dealing with spikes in COVID cases.

And a project currently in the works will help provide resources to folks even closer to home.

Clinics will serve support staff who work on the A&M campus who might not have access to ideal medical care.

“We like to say we�re �employed� by BUILD,” said Launikitis. “But it�s all volunteer work, so it�s really cheap employment.”

But the students said they can’t imagine anything being more gratifying.

Find out more about BUILD here: https://www.buildtamu.com/