Lorron James ’01 Encourages Graduates to Trust God’s Plan at Baccalaureate Mass

As the Class of 2026 gathered for the annual Brother Rice Baccalaureate Mass, graduates, families, faculty, and staff came together in prayer and thanksgiving to celebrate a milestone years in the making.

As part of the celebration, Brother Rice welcomed alumnus Lorron James ’01 as this year’s alumni speaker. Returning to campus during his 25th reunion year, James shared a message centered on faith, purpose, and trusting God’s plan, even when life unfolds differently than expected.

James serves as vice president of business affairs for James Group International, where he helps lead one of the region’s most successful supply chain and logistics organizations. Throughout his career in business, leadership, and philanthropy, he has learned that many of life’s most meaningful opportunities arrive not through careful planning, but through openness, perseverance, and faith.

Speaking to the graduates, James reflected on the uncertainty that often accompanies life’s transitions. While some students may have a clear vision for their future, he reminded those still finding their path that they do not need to have every answer today.

Drawing from Philippians 4:6-7, James encouraged graduates to place their trust in God, remain grateful, and approach the future with confidence rather than anxiety. He challenged them to stay grounded in the values and character they developed at Brother Rice and to remain open to the opportunities God places before them.

Throughout his remarks, James emphasized that success is not always about following a perfectly mapped-out plan. Instead, it often comes from being willing to listen, serve others, build meaningful relationships, and trust that God is working through both expected and unexpected circumstances.

He also reminded graduates that the qualities cultivated at Brother Rice, including kindness, respect, humility, and integrity, will continue to set them apart long after graduation. Those values, he noted, never go out of style.

As the Class of 2026 prepares to begin its next chapter, James left students with a powerful question to consider: Are you missing God’s answer to a prayer because you are only looking for the answer you expected?

His message served as a fitting reflection for the Baccalaureate Mass and a meaningful reminder that while the future may be uncertain, faith provides a foundation that endures.

Read Lorron’s full Baccalaureate Mass remarks below.

Keynote Address by Lorron James ’01

My name is Loren James, class of 2001. Before anything else, I want to begin with gratitude.

Thank you to the Brother Rice faculty, staff, and President Tom Reidy for allowing me to be a part of such a meaningful moment, and a very special thank you to Dan McGrath for the invitation. I also want to say congratulations to all of you on passing the rigorous test of graduating as a Brother Rice Warrior. If you’ve worked hard and have been looking forward to this day, please give yourselves a hand.

When I was told that Brother Rice invites a graduate from the class celebrating its 25-year reunion to speak at the baccalaureate mass, my first reaction was confusion. My second reaction was the realization that somehow I now qualify. I know you’ve heard people say, “Time flies,” or, “You don’t realize how good you have it,” but I promise you this: far sooner than you expect, one of you will be standing where I am right now, speaking to the class of 2051, wondering how life moved so quickly.

My first memory of Brother Rice dates back to before my freshman year officially began. I was convinced that I could find my place on the freshman golf team. My family belonged to the Detroit Golf Club, and while I could occasionally hit a long drive or sink a lucky putt or two, it became clear very quickly that the other boys had put in far more time than I had.

After just a couple of days of tryouts, I was cut. At the time, golf, football, and soccer all shared the same season, and I suddenly found myself unsure of where I belonged. One afternoon, while waiting in the locker room to be picked up, I walked past the equipment room and almost impulsively picked up an old orange football helmet that had clearly seen better days. I had no real football experience.

I had watched my older brother play, and I’d enjoyed Lions football games at the Pontiac Silverdome, but that was about it. Still, many of the guys I connected with were on the team, so I decided to show up.

After my first day of practice, I was completely exhausted, lying on my back on an unmarked field between Rice and Marian, staring up at the sky. I closed my eyes for what felt like a moment. When I opened them again, three and a half years had passed. It was the third play of the state championship game at the Pontiac Silverdome, the same place where I used to watch Barry Sanders play.

I was standing on the sideline when Coach Al Fracassa grabbed my elbow and shouted a play into my ear for me to relay to the offense. As a receiver, I go into motion, Matt Baker snaps the ball, pitches it to Jamarr Williams, Jamarr flips it to me running in the opposite direction, and I throw it to tight end Matt Studenski for a 76-yard touchdown to kick off what was a 28 to seven win over Hudsonville to win the state title in 2000.

I share that story not to relive my high school glory, but to make this simple point. The path that shaped me most began with rejection, uncertainty, and a decision to try something unfamiliar. Though football wasn’t my first love, it gave me the opportunity to play at Arizona State until I made the decision to change my own path by leaving the team to focus on school and, frankly, a better college experience.

I went to ASU as a psychology major, and after four years, I ended up graduating from the W. P. Carey School of Business. That experience helped me land a job in community affairs with the Arizona Diamondbacks baseball team, which ultimately kept me in the business world.

For those who already have a clear dream and a well-defined plan, I think that’s incredible. Keep going. I hope you pursue it with everything you have. But for those of you still figuring it out or whose path may not look as linear, I’d like to share a verse that has sustained me again and again.

Philippians 4:6 and 7 says,

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding and minds in Jesus Christ.”

What I learned is that it’s not your job to have everything figured out. It’s your job to take the first step.

It’s your job to take the positive characteristics learned from your family and teachers and to apply them to your life, which will undoubtedly separate you from your peers in college. One thing I hope you never do is abandon the character you built here just to make others more comfortable. Ironically, the very people who may pressure you to change are often the same people who later respect you because you didn’t. Put simply, being kind, being helpful, and being respectful never goes out of style.

It’s also your job to listen and be open. Sometimes the best opportunities don’t look like we originally hoped for, but if you’re willing to accept the positive things placed in front of you and do the best you can with them, doors tend to open in ways you couldn’t have planned.

I’ve learned that when you try to be useful, approachable, and genuinely invested in the people around you, influential people notice. Some of the most meaningful opportunities in my professional life didn’t come because I chased them. They came because someone saw what I was doing and cared enough to guide me along to the next stage.

When I moved back from Arizona in 2007, I helped start a junior board called the Emerging Philanthropists under United Way. I simply wanted to give back and be involved. A few years later, I was invited to serve on the executive board alongside business leaders I never had imagined I’d sit next to. Similar things happened through Leaders for Kids and the Children’s Hospital of Michigan Foundation, where I still serve today.

After joining the Detroit Athletic Club that same year, I eventually became Intermediate Council President in 2011, and years later was nominated to run for the board of directors in 2018. I was fortunate enough to be elected and became the youngest board member in the club’s 139-year history.

None of that was a part of some master plan. It came from showing up, helping where I could, and learning along the way. Those experiences led to exposure in business and philanthropy, which opened doors I never expected, including becoming part-owner of the Grand Rapids Gold, which is the NBA G League affiliate to the Denver Nuggets.

Through relationships in a network called YPO, I was also given the opportunity to invest in the Motor City Golf Club, part of the Tomorrow Golf League, founded by Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy.

At one time, I was convinced my future would be in professional sports as an athlete or working for a team. Instead, I find myself in supply chain management, continuing a family legacy my father began in 1971. Over the past 19 and a half years, I’ve been here with our family, and our family business has grown significantly.

I share that not with pride at all, but with the humility and gratitude of knowing that these things didn’t come by way of anything I did, but through the grace of God.

I had incredible teachers in my parents, a foundation of faith that sustained me through some difficult moments, and a school that helped shape the man I became. I realize that God’s answers to our prayers come from His perspective. They are not always in harmony with our expectations. Only He knows the whole story.

I’ll leave you today asking you one question: Are you missing God’s answer to a prayer because you haven’t considered any possible answers other than the one you expect?

My advice to you is to walk with Him. Stay close to Him as you can, so it’s easier for you to hear what He’s trying to say.

A lot has happened since I was cut from the freshman golf team back in August of 1997. But if I learned anything in that moment, it was how to pivot, how to be open, and how to trust that setbacks may not lead you to where you want to be, but they can lead you exactly where you were meant to be.

No matter where life takes you, always remember that you are…Brother Rice. Thank you.