A personal vocation story by Dr. Keith A. Morneau, Chairman
Like St. Thomas Aquinas, I did not begin my journey as someone seeking attention or acclaim. The idea was formed in quiet contemplation and the Lord calling, shaped more by questions than answers, more by a hunger for truth than by a need for recognition.
Thomas was called “the Dumb Ox” as a boy—misunderstood for his silence, even mocked for his stillness. Yet that silence hid a fire, a deep well of thought that, when awakened, would roar through history. I, too, have found myself working behind the scenes—educating, leading, building programs—not for prestige, but because the truth matters, and our children matter.
In an age that celebrates noise and spectacle, I felt a call to build something countercultural—a school formed not by the trends of the day but by eternal truths. St. Thomas found wisdom not in novelty, but in Veritas—truth grounded in faith and reason. That is what I seek to offer: a return to wonder, to virtue, to the classical roots of wisdom—a fire of learning that becomes light.
CASTA was not born from a business plan. It was born from a conviction—one I believe Thomas himself would recognize. A conviction that our children are not problems to solve, but souls to form. That education is not merely about test scores, but about becoming joyful leaders and saints.
I see in Thomas’s life the same balance I aspire to bring into this school:
The intellectual rigor to ask hard questions and study deeply.
The spiritual depth to kneel before mystery.
The moral courage to defend the good, even when the world says otherwise.
He was not afraid to use reason. Nor was he afraid to love the Eucharist like a child. And in that paradox lies the heart of Catholic education.
And so, like St. Thomas, I offer this school—Chesterton Academy of St. Thomas Aquinas—not as my own achievement, but as a fruit of contemplation, a humble gift to the Church, and a seed planted for generations yet to come.
Let this be a place where silence is not weakness, but wisdom. Where students ask “why” and learn to wonder. Where teachers don’t just transfer knowledge, but ignite it like firewood in a flame.
And if I, too, can bellow just a little in this world—not for my name, but for the truth—then I will have followed in the footsteps of that silent, stubborn, holy scholar who taught the world to think and pray.
May CASTA form not just minds, but souls. And may we all walk in the light of St. Thomas, toward Truth Himself.
