Regina Aguilar Prieto

Interior Design, 2024

“The Ladder” is a restaurant and culinary school that aims to serve as a pathway to employment for people in the community of Franklinton, Ohio. The culinary school is on the building's second floor and provides certifications to those who complete the courses. Here, the students learn safe food and kitchen sanitation practices; kitchen, food and equipment preparation; knife skills; food presentation and serving; nutrition basics; a variety of cooking methods; etc. The restaurant on the first floor offers jobs to those who have a challenging time getting jobs elsewhere (those with no bank account, permanent address, education, experience, etc.) and those who take classes at the culinary school upstairs. The employees learn about the food industry, customer service, management, bartending, etc. and gain experience, all of which help them be more hirable in the future.

Regina Aguilar Prieto is a fourth-year interior design student at The Ohio State University with a minor in Landscape Architecture. She is passionate about hospitality design, and she is really interested in the relationship and continuity between indoor and outdoor spaces. Regina designed The Ladder in hopes of providing employment opportunities in the Franklinton community.