Brother James Wallace was born and raised in Rochester, NY, the oldest of four children. He graduated from the University of Rochester with a degree in applied mathematics, taught math at his old high school for a few years, but then moved to the Albany area to join a friend on a religious quest. This quest ended with both of them becoming Catholic and being confirmed at St Anthony’s Church in Schenectady, NY. Br. James enjoyed working as a security guard and then as a programmer for a number of years, but felt an increasing attraction to religious life. “The Dominican motto ‘to contemplate and to share the fruits of contemplation’ resonated strongly with me. And when I visited the House of Studies in D.C. and saw Dominican life lived out, I knew that this was the way in which I wanted to give my life to God.”