Adventures around the Globe

PROVO, Utah – Jun 04, 2018 – From living in the culture of southern Georgia to spending years as a child in Germany to experiencing the 2011 Japanese earthquake firsthand, global supply chain senior Clorisa Griffiths has had a variety of unique cultural experiences.

After living a few years in Georgia, Griffiths and her family embarked on a new adventure overseas, first living in Germany and then in Japan. Griffiths’ exposure to new cultures created life-defining moments for her that cultivated her interest in global supply chain.

As Griffiths learned German, she realized that the way people think in English doesn’t always make sense to German speakers.

“Understanding how to recognize cultural assumptions helped me to translate not just words but also how people interpret the meaning of those words,” Griffiths says. “I have learned how to better connect with people despite our differences by first understanding how they think about things.”

After a few years in Germany, Griffiths and her family moved to Japan. They were later evacuated in 2011 after the 9.1 magnitude earthquake caused a tsunami and a nuclear meltdown.

“Experiencing a natural disaster was shocking,” she says. “However, it was amazing to feel the empathy and love of the Japanese people while also working on an organized, procedural effort to begin cleaning up after the storm. This is a perfect example of how a supply chain works! The experience in Japan drove me to the GSCM major once I chose to come to BYU.”

While in high school, Griffiths and her family returned to Georgia. As she spent time there, she developed a deeper understanding of cultural differences amid those in the United States and other countries.

“Moving back to Atlanta helped me realize the uniqueness of my American and Southern culture. I also learned that sometimes people from very different countries have more in common with each other than with their fellow countrymen.”

Griffiths’ interest in finding connections between cultures led to her pursuit of supply chain after admission to the program. This passion was validated in summer 2016 as Griffiths interned for Abercrombie & Fitch and performed exceptionally well in her position. She kept a notebook throughout the summer in which she drew diagrams of ANF’s global supply chain process. Her boss was so impressed that Griffiths was asked to present her findings to top executives.
 
As she gained experience and passion, she increased her involvement in supply chain organizations at BYU Marriott. She currently acts as the president of the Global Management Student Association, participates on the leadership team for the Women in Business mentoring program, and is working with a fellow student to develop a Women in Global Supply Chain branch of the Global Supply Chain Club. This summer she is also interning for Boeing to gain exposure to supply chain in the aerospace industry.
 
Though Griffiths expands her supply chain horizons each day, her path towards this career field would not be the same without her adventures around the globe.
 
“I came to love learning from people who are different than me,” she says. “Despite those differences, however, we all have something in common that can connect us across our barriers. Pursuing a career in GSCM allows me to continue developing this attitude about people, and will help me to learn more from others in the future.”