Keeping the South Side fresh, free, and flourishing.
- Kaleb Duarte
- Aug 1
- 4 min read
"I view the South Side differently now,"
says Ryan Wren, a student at Columbus Fort Hayes High School and South Side resident. Over the past seven weeks, he and nine other high schoolers from across Columbus joined the 2025 CoLab Studio, the paid Youth CoLab internship that gives our city's youth the tools to change their communities through design.
The internship, recently featured on NBC4 and 10TV, mirrors a rigorous studio environment where the team must design and implement an urban activation for a client. This year, Community Development For All People needed a fresh look for the All People's Fresh Market, and luckily, the CoLab Studio stepped up to help the critical neighborhood resource. "It went from elegant to opulent," says Aaron Hamilton, manager of the All People's Fresh Market. "Now, it's buzzing. People are saying: 'Look at what they got here! Look at what they got going on.'"
Improvements to the site included the installation of shade structures, new signage, roadway art, landscaping, queue line improvements, yard games, and the crown jewel: a large mural on the south face of the building.
The design of this site was the product of weeks of iteration, critique, and review from the Studio interns.
"That was a challenge." Says James Watson, another intern in the CoLab Studio. "You know, there were times where I was like: 'Man, I don't even know what to do.' And then I just have to come up with something from the top of my head or look over references." Riahna Jackson, an intern and recent high school graduate headed to study architecture at the Knowlton School, expressed her difficulties with the critiquing process. "It has to get done. I know we can get so attached to our designs and think we did so well. To be told that maybe we need to change something, it may not be the best feeling."
After weeks of developing design and professional development skills, however, the interns report a change in perspective. "But now, I feel like I want all my stuff to get critiqued," Riahna continues. For many, the experience has been transformative.
"This has really lifted me." Ryan says.
"I definitely feel more connected," says Aniya.
"It's keeping kids off the streets," says Faith on a broadcast on NBC4.
"I've learned a lot from this program," said Jiselle. After listing improvements in her public speaking, presentation, design, and communication skills, she noted one above all:
"Kindness."
Our youth are a litmus test for the strength of our communities.
The Columbus region is home to over 100,000+ kids between the ages of 15-19. An investment in our youth is an investment in the social, economic, and environmental prosperity of our city. Today, youth are more aware of social injustices, engaged in civil discourse, and the upcoming generations are linked to historic lows in economic opportunity, according to the World Economic Forum.
The Youth CoLab is a pipeline. Not just to create architects, planners, artists, or designers, but citizens acting as local catalysts for change in their neighborhoods. As kids are brought up in a world filled with uncertainty, where top-down policies challenge notions of justice and equity, the CoLab Studio is a reminder that creating stronger communities is a process that sparks at the bottom and burns its way to the top.
Recently, the Youth CoLab pipeline expanded with the creation of CoLab Engage, an after-school workshop series for high school students interested in a critical understanding of design, planning, history, and activism within the built environment that launched this past spring. "We've put together presentations, activities," Says Mikey Mlakar, NDC project coordinator. "Different ways to talk through what the career and the field at large mean to them."
Of the ten interns hired to be a part of the CoLab Studio, seven of them were active participants from the CoLab Engage workshops. The interest in professional development, artistic expression, and using design as a vehicle for social change is strong among Columbus youth.
"The community always needs help, you know? We're all part of it. Try and help the best we can," says intern and CoLab Engage participant Ronnie Wren. "You know, there are problems here in the South Side. Like, it's not perfect... and they supported us."
"They feel a part of this community when they see that people care," shared Fresh Market manager Aaron. "I got a chance to witness you guys take this thing and make it so intentional. I'm excited for the future because I see that there's so much work that can be done and so much energy for it."
Intern Yaunni Cornnet, also a CoLab Engage participant, began seeing her neighborhood from a new perspective. "Now that I look at it, I feel like it could use a little more color. A little more design, some things could be built differently."
As the paint dries and the dust settles, 3 words are visible on the south-end mural: Fresh, Free, and Flourishing. While reflecting on his time as a CoLab Studio intern, Ronnie said it best:
"Art is limitless."
Learn more about the Youth CoLab youth empowerment initiative, CoLab Studio, CoLab Engage, and support the program below.