Feature Story
“Nothing You Learn is Ever Wasted”: Rick and Ellen James on Faith, Business, and Capitol Hill
On Oct. 16, the Southern Virginia University community gathered in the Knight Arena to hear from Rick and Ellen James, who have served in the U.S. Senate and the White House for over 15 years. There they spoke about what navigating career paths and life’s unexpected turns have taught them about gratitude, preparation, and being ready when opportunities come.
“The quickest and best way to success and happiness is gratitude,” said Rick. “Luck is when preparation meets opportunity. You’re preparing now for the luck that might happen—you’re preparing now for the opportunities that are going to come.”
To illustrate how making changes in life doesn’t confine you to a single role, Ellen recalled her own career path, which has included several unexpected turns. After leaving a successful early career at WordPerfect Corporation to raise their four children, she worried that stepping away from the workforce might be a permanent choice. Years later, volunteering as a campaign coordinator for Senator Mike Lee’s campaign helped open the door to a new career in Washington, D.C., where she eventually served as his director of scheduling.
After several years in that role, Ellen went on to schedule for Congressman Barry Loudermilk and Senator Josh Hawley, work in the West Wing as Executive Assistant to Vice President J.D. Vance, and now serves as Director of Senate Operations for the Vice President.
Rick’s career has taken its own turns. After graduating from Brigham Young University with a degree in business management, he also began his career at WordPerfect, where he and Ellen met, before founding his own business technology company. He now applies his experience in business, operations, and technology to advise and work alongside five U.S. Senators.
“The choices that you make right now in your early 20s or wherever you’re at in life, they don’t have to determine everything that follows,” Ellen said. “You do not need to know where your life is going to go. Be curious, work hard, treat people well, be ready when opportunities present themselves, and remember that you have multiple lifetimes in your career.”
The couple also urged students to not overlook the basic essential habits that matter in both personal and professional life: owning mistakes, going the extra mile, and treating everyone, regardless of their station in life, with equal respect. Ellen shared how simple acts, such as packing a Thanksgiving meal for a West Wing custodian or baking homemade cookies for other colleagues and leaders, demonstrated Christ-like love and helped build friendships in high-pressure environments.
“I truly tried to do as Christ would do and love everyone,” said Ellen. “You never know how valuable skills you have developed in previous roles are going to help. In those 17 years I was a homemaker, I did not waste my skills. Nothing you learn while serving your family and others in different times of your life is going to be wasted.”
“‘Wherefore, be not weary in well-doing, for ye are laying the foundation of a great work’,” said Rick, quoting Doctrine and Covenants 64:33. “Your life is a great work. That foundation that you’re setting now is going to lead to a great work.”
The forum opened with the audience singing “Dearest Children, God is Near You,” followed by a musical performance of “Ad Astra” by the SVU Men’s Chorus, directed by Dr. Ben Gaughran. The campus community concluded the event by singing the traditional closing hymn, “Love One Another.”