Published on Dec. 3, 2025

Updated on Dec. 4, 2025

By: Alivia Roach

Her sophomore year at Mizzou, Taylor Swanigan often found herself staring at her grades, wondering where it all went wrong. She hated to admit it, but she was struggling with her biology major. The plan all along had been to become a neurosurgeon, helping people with everything she could after experiencing at a young age the tragic losses of her mother and, soon after, her brother.

But now older, she couldn’t help but doubt the choices she was making. Hadn’t she wanted this? Hadn’t she wanted to help so many others not experience the pain and loss she had?

Swanigan felt torn at the idea of changing her major, because she felt it was her destiny. But then she thought of her childhood, being with her father throughout his workday as a property-owner and how she used to fix her mind on reimagining the room around her.

“When I was sitting down on the floor, I would think ‘Oh, paint can go there, and that wall can be blue.’ I look back to that, and for some things in life, you have to tap into the little girl you used to be,” said Swanigan.

And that’s just what she did. After introducing the idea to her dad, he agreed and told her he knew she wanted to change her major, recalling the same memories she had. 

With this to encourage her, Swanigan changed her major to Architectural Studies with an emphasis in Interior Design. She felt a surge of motivation, switching her study zone to Ellis Library, which offered better lighting for her projects, instead of her apartment where she had a hard time focusing.

But she wanted to take it one step (more like 4,000 miles) further. She heard of Mizzou Study Abroad’s program to Scandinavia and knew the opportunity could offer her a once-in-a-lifetime experience with hands-on activities for her new major.

Traveling from Copenhagen to Stockholm, Swanigan saw it all. One of the most astounding sights she visited was a church built out of more than six million hand-made bricks. With the technology Swanigan had learned in her major, she couldn’t imagine being able to make something so spectacular with only human hands. 

She also was able to reflect on things she learned in classes, applying them to each structure she saw and learning more day-by-day.

“Each space I walked into, I had to stand there in awe. We were learning to understand that there is beauty in each age of the building we went into,” said Swanigan.  “Professionally, it taught me to slow down, to have patience with the delivery on projects, that I’m not going to get a beautiful symphony hall overnight.”

Swanigan has seen so much change in her life, just from the one decision to switch her major. Studying abroad through Mizzou gave her a whole new meaning to her Interior Design major. It opened her eyes to all of the possibilities that lie ahead of her.

Biology wasn’t the direction she chose in the end, though it remains a strong option for students drawn to health care. She still thinks now and then about what staying with it could have meant, but she knows her mom would have been proud of her either way. 

Now, Swanigan recognizes how much of an influence her mother had on her creativity. 

“My mother lives on through me, and she would be so happy to know that I’m doing something colorful, bright and interactive. I finally have color back in my life,” Swanigan said.

Ready to take the next step and enhance your Mizzou experience? Find opportunities through Mizzou Study Abroad like Swanigan and explore the world.