Heidi Hillesland said she saw poverty in Mexico and wanted to help.
Since July 2007, Hillesland has been raising money with 12 other UNM medical students to help build a clinic and health care facility in Chiapas, Mexico.
The group plans to raise $100,000.
Hillesland said she doesn't want just medical students involved in the project.
"We would be thrilled to have anyone help that is interested," she said. "At this point, we are focused on fundraising and would love help with this and putting together a fundraising event. In the future, there could be opportunity for an architecture student to design the actual facility."
Hillesland said the clinic would be built near communal farmlands where it would be most accessible.
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Medical student Hannah Dunn said she learned of the poor conditions in Chiapas when she was an exchange student.
Dunn said the Mexican government has not done enough for the people of Chiapas.
"If I, as a medical student, can help, I'm going to get involved and raise money to get the project rolling," she said. "We have a year to get the project rolling. If we can raise $100,000 in a year, we'll start building next spring."
Dunn said the project is good for medical students interested in working outside of the U.S.
"My goal in becoming a doctor is to help people around the world that need it the most, and I don't want to wait until I'm done with residency seven years from now until I get to work on that goal," she said. "I'd be happy to go and help build it, and then I'd be happy to go and work as a physician when I'm done."
Students like Hillesland and Dunn are the next generation of health professionals, said Daniel Palazuelos, a doctor in Chiapas.
He said the students can make significant changes in the health care of poorer communities around the world.
"Even if the students don't dedicate their life to work abroad, they can learn a lot from seeing firsthand how poor and marginalized communities have found new and innovative ways to organize and improve their health and well-being," he said.
