It was an easy ‘yes’ when Alexandra Mora heard that Aggies Without Limits (AWL) needed funds to build a health center in Nicaragua last summer. Mora, who championed the initiative with her husband Manny ’84, was moved by the project. “When I learned there was a need for a health facility in a remote village with no access to healthcare, and that our students would design and build it themselves, I said, ‘We have to support this.’”
For the last two decades, NMSU emeritus professor Kenny Stevens and current professor Paul Furth have spent their summer break sweating through the heat of Central America, guiding teams of students in hands-on construction projects across Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala, Mexico and Bolivia.
There, three to four dozen Aggies help build bridges, water and filtration systems and health clinics for remote villages with limited infrastructure and few resources. The work is grueling, stretching from sunrise to sundown, and the trips cost students and sponsors thousands of dollars. But the impact and experience far outweigh the sacrifice.
The team is already looking ahead to this summer’s trip to Santa Ana, Guatemala, a town of 2,000. Residents currently walk up to eight kilometers each way for clean water or pool funds to have it trucked in, after a long-running pipeline project failed due to extreme water pressure caused by a deep valley along the route. AWL volunteers plan to survey the line, replace vulnerable PVC with steel in high-pressure sections across steep jungle terrain, and install village water tanks to create a reliable local water system.
Life-changing experiences, career-building opportunities
A student-led, NMSU-chartered community service organization, AWL completed its fifth project in Nicaragua last May. Guided by Stevens and Furth, the team traveled to El Potrero with 41 students, faculty and alumni to build critical infrastructure and strengthen ties with a rural community of 700 residents.
With students welcomed from any major on campus, AWL undertakes two major service projects each year: one domestic and one international. True to its name, AWL embraces bold challenges across borders to create a lasting impact.
Stevens, who has led the AWL journeys for the past 20 years, said last year’s trip was especially meaningful — particularly the construction of the health center. “What those kids did on May 31, mixing and placing 24 cubic yards of concrete by hand, is something I will never forget,” he says. “I have worked in the engineering/construction industry for close to 40 years, and what I saw on that day will remain with me until the day I die. My definition of what mortal humans can accomplish was forever altered.”
A Trio of Projects for Learning, Leading
Supported by funding from the Moras, the students focused on three major tasks in El Potrero: the new health center, rehabilitating a pedestrian bridge (“Puente del Amigo,” built by AWL in 2017), and upgrading a water system into a hydro-powered one.
The cornerstone was the construction of a community health center, essential to Nicaragua’s public health system. These centers combine acute care, preventative outreach, and follow-up services in rural areas where access to medical facilities is limited.
Rose Lee ’25, a chemical engineering graduate and two-time AWL trip participant, served as co-lead for the student teams. “Once we completed the walls and installed the plumbing, we poured the entire floor in just one day,” Lee recalls. “The amount of concrete we used was equal to four full cement trucks. Since no vehicles could reach the village, we had to do it all by hand. We mixed concrete from 7 a.m. to 7:30 p.m., nonstop. But we got it done and seeing it all finished was incredible.”
Already, the villages have held community outreach sessions on diabetes, internal medicine, personal safety, nutrition and foot care, and given free lab tests.
Worldwide Projects Need a World of Good
Projects like this take not only time and talent, but resources. Each year, AWL raises funds to help cover student expenses such as travel, lodging, and meals, with every student also contributing to making the mission possible.
Funds come from their GoFundMe campaign as well as the NMSU Foundation’s annual crowdfunding event, 1888 Minutes of Giving. Some students earn travel funds by taking on community service projects like weeding or trash cleanups. The money helps pay for essentials like concrete, rebar, masonry, piping, lumber and aggregate, plus the logistics of housing and feeding 40+ team members on site.
A Personal Tie
A matching gift from the Moras helped bring the Nicaragua health center project to life. Manny, an engineering alum and NMSU Foundation board member, sees Aggies Without Limits as a powerful opportunity. “It’s an incredible way to support students’ professional and personal growth while making a lasting impact on communities around the world,” he said. In fall 2025, the Moras established the Manuel and Alexandra Mora Bright Journeys Endowment for the Aggies Without Limits program in the College of Engineering.
Manny Mora’s passion for engineering was sparked by the Space Shuttle. “I remember wondering how something that looked like an airplane could launch into space and come back,” he recalls. That sense of awe led him to NMSU, then to Motorola (later acquired by General Dynamics), where he supported the space race, and ultimately to his current role as CEO of Kymeta, the global leader in mobile satellite communications powered by metamaterials technology.
Over the past three decades, he has helped drive space-based missions in support of national security worldwide, carrying his NMSU education from Las Cruces to the outer reaches of space to the jungles of Nicaragua.
Finding new ways to make an impact
Lee echoes Alexandra Mora’s hopes for the future. “It’s inspiring to see people who are willing to work hard for a community halfway around the globe, using the opportunities they’ve been given to make life better for others.”
What can you do to make a global impact? “Word of mouth is really important to Aggies Without Limits,” says Lee. “There are many ways to help us out, and you’re always welcome to come with us and do your part to help these communities! It really does take a village.”
Aggies Without Limits continues to represent the best of what NMSU has to offer: bold innovation, service-driven leadership, and the commitment to build a better world – one bridge, pipeline, and health center at a time.
To make a gift for future AWL projects, visit https://alwaysanaggie.org/donate/eng-awl/, or call AWL at (575) 646-5499. This summer’s trip takes place May 19 to June 9, and volunteers are welcome.
This story first appeared in the Spring 2026 edition of Aggie Up! To view the full issue visit: alwaysanaggie.org/stories/aggieup-spring-2026.