"I think the most fulfilling part was showing them the designs the first time and seeing their faces light up," said Martin, who is from Lexington, Ky. "It was actually really emotional. They were just blown away by the images that we showed them.

"What made their presentation of the virtual model of the school so powerful was that it was the first time residents of the village had seen a computer, Bell said. The residents were also astounded when they saw photos of their children, which Martin and Ryan had taken in the spring, superimposed on images of the building.

While working on the design for the school in Honduras, Martin and Ryan collaborated with a licensed architect in the Honduran capital, Tegucigalpa. Although the design is now complete, construction can not begin until Mayor Potencial raises $30,000 to pay for the first stage of the project — a building that will house three classrooms for the high school. So far, the group has collected $6,500 toward that goal through Cornell's crowdfunding website.

“The $6,500 we’ve raised to date is not enough to kick off the construction of the school," Bell said."But we hope the Cornell community can come together and support this great cause and this great community.”

The project will be developed as an educational campus that will include two classroom buildings for the high school and primary school, a computer lab and library, and a kitchen and cafeteria. The four buildings, which will be made of cinder block and painted sky blue, will be situated on a sloping terrace that will feature play areas with curving paths, a school garden, and two congregation areas for school assemblies and public meetings.

To add a unique feature to the buildings, Ryan said they transformed the metal grating that must be installed on the windows for security into sculptures that will be fabricated by local metal workers. "Maybe these windows could illustrate parts of the agricultural process," said Ryan, who is from London. "For the library, they could show the traditional legends they have like the various creatures and goddesses to form a more fantastical space.

"In a separate project, the two architecture students are also designing a guest house that would be used by the groups of Cornell students who travel to El Rodeito to volunteer in the elementary school or the local medical clinic. The facility, which is a ten-minute walk away from the school campus, would include two buildings that would each accommodate 25 students.

Martin said the experience of working on the project in El Rodeito has changed his career goals. "Seeing the potential of the impact we can have even before the construction convinced me that this is the kind of work I want to do as an architect," he said. "Design is needed much more by people who have less, and I would rather go where I'm really needed."