Senior Jordan Espinoza had no idea how hard it was to open a door while sitting in a wheelchair.

“I could open it but it was hard to go through it and keep it open so I usually had to have somebody open it for me and hold it open or I would ask the teacher to keep the door open so that way I could get in and out,” she said.

Espinoza was one of dozens of Akins students who participated in a Wheelchair Challenge, which allows Akins students the chance to experience what it is like to spend a whole school day in a wheelchair. The event is also a way to raise funds to pay for motorized doors to be installed around campus to help students who are wheelchair bound.

The campus goal is to raise $30,000 to install five motorized automatic doors. The event is a spin-off of a similar campaign that happened in Austin High School last year that raised $90,000 and installed motorized doors at five locations across that campus. The campaign at Austin High was organized by Austin High student Archer Hadley, who is wheelchair bound and lives with cerebral palsy.

Principal Brandi Hosack said she was invited by Hadley’s parents to host a Wheelchair Challenge at Akins and she accepted after being inspired by Archer’s successful efforts at his campus.

Hosack said she thought Akins would be a good place for a challenge because there are so many caring students here.

“I knew that if we brought the challenge here that our students would latch onto it because (students) do care. We do care on this campus about other people, about what it’s like to have different struggles and so I just feel like we’re the right setting for it,” she said.

Senior Anahi Trevino, who has been wheelchair bound since she was little, said that navigating around akins high school can be extremely challenging. She said some of the most difficult obstacles include opening heavy doors, slippery metal ramps and the elevator not always working.

“(Sometimes) there’s no one to help me and the doors are really heavy so I have to pull all the way myself and then go in just before the door hits my wheel,” Trevino said.

Trevino said that there are a few places in particular that could benefit from a motorized door, including the main entrance and the rear entrance by the STEM wing. She would also like to see an additional elevator installed.

Hosack said the Akins campus is technically 100 percent compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act, but there are still things that could be done to improve access. However, she said adding an extra elevator on campus would cost tens of thousands of dollars and is currently not affordable.

“Of course, I have thought of about it, unfortunately we are bound by finances and we don’t have the money to be able to do that because every single dollar that comes into our building I try to spent on teaching staff or supplies for students,” she said.