If you met Elizabeth Morrison around Blacksburg, you may see her carrying two cellphones, walking her Kerry Blue Terrier, and perhaps even sporting a Syrian necklace. At first glance, you probably wouldn’t realize that these are tell-tale signs that you’re meeting someone whose experiences have prepared her to be your point of contact for global safety. 

As Virginia Tech’s new assistant director of global safety and risk management, Morrison is the point of contact for risk mitigation and safety planning for anyone traveling internationally with Virginia Tech. If travelers encounter a health or safety emergency while abroad, she has the emergency phone with her at all times and is ready to provide in-the-moment guidance and after-action direction.  

To help the Virginia Tech community get familiar with their new point of contact for global travel safety, we've asked her to give us a glimpse into her role, her experience, and her personality. 

 

The new role: Safety first!

Q: What does your role involve, and what do you wish every Hokie traveler understood about safety and risk management?

A: When people hear “risk management,” I think their assumption is we prefer to say “no,” or we are going try to put people in bubble wrap. However, I think this role is more about encouraging international travelers to understand, acknowledge, and mitigate the risks at their particular destination. 

As Virginia Tech faculty, students, and staff increasingly engage with the world – through research, study, and partnerships, we cannot ignore that this global work does not happen only in our familiar Blacksburg hills. Each destination presents a different set of prospects and challenges and has a unique security profile. Strong safety and security supports make international collaboration and high impact learning experiences, like study abroad, feasible. 

 

Seven nations, many jobs, one path to Blacksburg

Q: Describe your professional journey and the experiences that led you to this role and shaped your approach to global safety.

A: For almost as long as I can remember I've been interested in other cultures, languages, and intercultural learning. Driven by a strong belief in the transformational power of experiential education, I pursued a master's degree in international and intercultural management in my mid-20s.

A couple sits on a low wall with the three pyramids of Giza clearly visible behind them
Elizabeth Morrison and her husband pose with the Great Pyramids in Cairo, Egypt. Photo courtesy of Elizabeth Morrison.

When my husband joined the Foreign Service and we moved overseas, my priorities had to shift to learning new languages to meet basic needs and raising three sons in multiple countries. In several places, though, I found positions where I could continue to apply my knowledge of intercultural management. In Dublin, Amsterdam, and Accra, for instance, I worked in the consular section, adjudicating U.S. visa and citizenship applications and supporting American citizens in crisis situations.

From the time I left my close-knit Alabama hometown to now, I have had a mailing address in seven countries outside the U.S.: Ecuador, Armenia, Syria, Honduras, Ireland, the Netherlands, and Ghana. Living in different cultures and working in consular sections taught me the challenges and rewards of living outside the United States, the importance of smart security as the foundation for an excellent international experience, and the capabilities and limitations of U.S. embassies.

Fast forward to today: all three of my sons have graduated from high school, and my husband stands at the threshold of retiring from government service. I feel like this role is a return to and embrace of the path I started on as a young adult, with a slightly different emphasis.

 

The Takeaways from Traveling: Souvenirs, Stories, and More

a young boy in a thick blue coat kneels in the sand with his arms around a dog with dark curly fur
On a windy Dutch beach, Elizabeth Morrison's middle son poses with their young puppy, Indigo. Photo courtesy of Elizabeth Morrison.

Q. What’s the most meaningful souvenir you’ve gotten while abroad and why? 

A: We have picked up some lovely carpets and artwork along the way, but the most meaningful addition to the household: our wonderful Kerry Blue Terrier Indigo, adopted from a family farm in Cork, Ireland. Leaving Honduras was difficult for my children, so we promised a dog upon arrival in Ireland. Indigo turned 14 years old in August and has crossed the Atlantic Ocean five or six times. Traveling with a pet in tow requires a LOT of advance planning, but totally worth it.

Q: Living in so many different countries, you've likely learned about adaptability - how to adapt to both new cultures and to challenging situations. Can you share some examples?  

A: Here is an example of learning to adapt to new cultures. Being from Alabama, I thought I knew what hospitality looked like, but there’s simply no comparison to Syrian hospitality. Our hosts always made us feel like we were the most special guests they had ever received in their homes / shops. Until I had refused the offer of food or coffee three times, I wasn’t really serious about my “no.” Also, I learned not to complement a Syrian’s scarf or jewelry; they might take it off and give it to me.  

For an example of being adaptable during challenges, I think of the time when my family was scheduled to pick up my nervous-traveler, non-Arabic-speaking mother from the Amman, Jordan airport. We were just finishing a 2-day visit of Jerusalem, and as we drove towards Jordan, we discovered the border crossing was closed. Traveling north to the next border crossing, we brainstormed how to communicate with my mother about our anticipated late arrival. She didn’t have a cell phone. The airport didn’t have Wi-Fi. Then, a lightbulb! Back home in Damascus, Syria, our friend and neighbor Noor mentioned he would be in Amman around that time. We called, he picked up, and we explained our situation and gave him the flight details and a description of my mother. As it happened, he was going to the airport that evening to meet a friend. Noor met my mother at baggage claim; he and his friend welcomed her and waited with her until we arrived an hour late. This experience reinforced the importance of informal conversations that build relationships, asking for help when needed, and keeping my cell phone charged when in transit. 

Q. Could you share a few short sentences of wisdom that you've learned from your experiences for people traveling — or thinking about traveling — to new places? 

A: To acclimate to a new place, read, listen, learn all you can about it. Say yes to invitations. Try the local food, music, and sports. Observe people and events. Get plenty of rest.

Never grow tired of experiencing the beauty and diversity of the world, or absorbing insights from the people you encounter on the journey. 

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Embracing her philosophy of saying yes to invitations, trying local traditions, and learning from the people around her, Morrison discovered one of her favorite activities in Ghana, making batik - a form of textile art. (Photo courtesy of Elizabeth Morrison.)