McKenna Long, a Michigan State University student majoring in Graphic Design who is preparing to graduate this spring, spent a semester abroad studying at the Paris College of Art (PCA), an opportunity available exclusively to MSU College of Arts & Letters students. She used the experience to expand her academic and creative focus, exploring interior design, architecture, and spatial design — all while living and studying in the City of Light.

During her semester abroad, Long took a mix of graphic design and design-focused courses. In her branding class, she worked on hospitality-based projects. She also took a CAD course, a lighting design class, and an alternative methods in design course, for which she created a bas-relief architectural model.

“It was such a good opportunity to do something outside the field of graphic design,” she said.

When Long first came to MSU, she knew graphic design was the right fit, but also that it did not fully capture the breadth of her interests.

“I consider myself to be a multidisciplinary designer and really wanted to have a leg up on what designing and curating could look like,” she said. “Long-term, my goal is to become a creative director within the hospitality industry — contributing to a studio alongside interior designers, brand designers, photographers, and artists to create spaces with function and story.”

When Long first learned about the Paris College of Art program, it immediately stood out. PCA offered coursework that complemented her graphic design background while allowing her to build new technical and conceptual skills in design fields she had not yet formally studied.

“The program was a culmination of all the things that I loved in the current moment and all the things that I wanted to grow into.”

“Long term, short term, it met all my goals,” she said. “The program was a culmination of all the things that I loved in the current moment and all the things that I wanted to grow into. It was a really good blend of education — to pull from Paris and pull from Michigan State and really curate a degree that catered to me and my direction in the future.”

One of the most meaningful aspects of the experience was the creative community at PCA, where students came from all around the world, bringing a wide range of cultural backgrounds and perspectives.

“It was a melting pot of people from different backgrounds, different observation skills, different perspectives,” she said. “Not only did I feel a part of it, I felt like I was contributing to that as well. It was really special being part of a community that was so diverse and so creative-forward.”

Paris itself also proved to be as influential as the coursework and functioned as an extension of the classroom.

“Living in Paris unto itself was so inspirational,” Long said. “Every single time I stepped outside my door, I’d be going to a new café, a new market, a new museum. Being immersed in such a lively and creative-driven city was beautiful.”

Opening New Doors

Rather than a single defining moment, Long described the semester as gradual, unfolding growth.

“It truly was a culmination of a ton of little moments,” she said. “Even building a routine and finding a rhythm in a city so far from home, and finding peace in that, and creating a space where I feel comfortable growing into someone new.”

After her time in Paris in early May 2025, Long spent the rest of the month in Greece at the Michigan State Univerity Excavations at Isthmia working with Jon Frey, Associate Professor in the Department of Art, Art History, and Design at MSU, on architectural renderings of an ancient Roman bath.

“Paris was a catalyst to that,” Long said. “It was special to do something so far outside my comfort zone and open new doors that I never thought would be possible.”

Long documented her semester abroad extensively through photography. The resulting collection recently was on display at Kresge Art Center. Shot entirely on analog 35mm film across six countries, the exhibition was an ode to the moments that stay with us and the ones that call us to linger just a second longer. It reflects Long’s quiet decision to remain present and radically observant — to hold something in its becoming.

“We leave pieces of ourselves behind in places, in people, in moments we almost didn’t stop for,” Long said. “We discover pieces of ourselves the same way — in the waiting, the staying, the coming back. In the moments that shape us, often without us realizing until much later. We have complete agency over the way we see the world, how we move through a place, a season, a year, a life — and how we let it move us.”

A collection of design work that Long completed at the Paris College of Art is on display April 20-27, 2026, at Kresge Art Center as part of the BFA Graphic Design Senior Exhibition, which features works from all the BFA in Graphic Design Spring 2026 graduates. The closing reception for that exhibition is on Friday, April 24, from 5 to 7 p.m.

As Long prepares to graduate this spring with her BFA in Graphic Design, she is applying to multidisciplinary design studios in Chicago, Detroit, and London while continuing to freelance brand design for multiple clients.

By Austin Curtis and Kim Popiolek