co sp mm e ed en cia iti cem l on e nt
Congrats! Official Coram Deo Academy communique for families, alumni and friends
August 2011
CLASS OF 2011
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Chapin Cavender
Dr. Pepper is the most terrific soft drink on the face of this planet. This statement is an absolute truth. But just what do I mean by absolute truth? Absolute truth is a statement that is true for all people at all times in all places. Okay, so maybe Dr. Pepper’s superiority over other quotidian soft drinks is not actually an absolute truth. Nonetheless, absolute truth does exist. Our society, however, has initiated a vociferous assault on the existence of absolute truth. It is this very assault that undermines society’s ability to grow and evolve. A firm belief in absolute truth is essential to the construction of a dynamic worldview because such a belief gives us three things. It gives us the ability to become selfless, the ability to think critically, and the ability to progress. Believing in absolute truth is important because it allows us to become selfless. If absolute truth does not exist, then truth is determined by each individual’s personal whims. In the words of the transcendentalist philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson: “The only right is what is after my constitution; the only wrong is what is against it.” This kind of thinking causes us to create a worldview in which we are the epicenter, in which the fulfillment of our own wants and desires is more important than anything else. But of course that is not true. We exist for a purpose greater than the simple biological desire to survive and reproduce and the material desire to make money and be happy. Subscribing to a worldview that is not based on absolute truth distracts us from our true purpose of loving and serving others. Believing in absolute truth also teaches us to think critically. Once we decide that absolute truth does exist, we can examine the worldviews presented to us in the context of that truth. Without absolute truth as a standard by which to measure the value of a worldview, any system of beliefs
the Commencement forum, 2011
Valedictorian’s Speech can be seen as legitimate and acceptable. A noble worldview that exemplifies tolerance and human relationships can have just as much merit as one that finds meaning in trivial things like bubbles and unicorns. Absolute truth develops in us a degree of perspicacity that allows us to challenge the views that we encounter instead of a habit of passively endorsing every philosophy that confronts us. Finally, and most importantly, believing in absolute truth gives us the ability to progress. Absolute truth endows us with selflessness and critical thinking. By building on these two values, we can constructively impact the world around us. The process is very similar to constructing a mathematical sequence of numbers known as the Fibonacci sequence. The first two terms of the sequence are one and one, and each subsequent term is found by taking the sum of the previous two terms. Thus the third term in the sequence is one plus one, or two. The fourth term is two plus one, or three. Then, two plus three is five, five plus three is eight, eight plus five is thirteen, and the sequence continues. In order to progress in the sequence, the mathematician must build on the terms that already exist. Similarly, in order to progress in a society, you must build on the values of selflessness and critical thinking that are grounded in a belief in absolute truth to create new relationships and new ideas. The education system at Coram Deo is a system based on absolute truth. As a result, it disciplines its students in the building blocks of progress. By working from a classical curriculum, Coram Deo teaches us not what to think, but actually how to think. We have also been equipped with the panoply of tools needed to analyze the systems of value around us and to create our own independent viewpoints. For example, we as a class have written thirty-two public policy papers in which we have developed personal solutions to specific issues in our community. But even more importantly, Coram Deo has trained us to become selfless because our education was presented within the context of a Christian worldview. Every class at Coram Deo teaches students the principles of the Christian faith, and then students are given the opportunity to enact these principles through participation in school sports, fine arts,
and the High School House System of student government. Our class has even undertaken a variety of service projects to uplift our community. In ninth grade, we participated in a food drive for the needy called “A Ton of Tuna” in which we donated cans of tuna whose total weight was very nearly a metric ton. We were encouraged in this endeavor by a lively duo consisting of a mermaid and giant tuna that looked suspiciously like Mrs. Dwyer and Mr. Lemley. Last year and the year before, we donated our spare coins for a project called “Loose Change to Loosen Chains” which helped to alleviate slavery in developing countries. And this year, we raised over seven hundred dollars for Pine Cove Christian Camp through a fundraiser called “Are You Smarter than a CDA Student?” Fellow graduates, as we leave our four years in high school behind and advance to the next phase of our lives, it is common to feel a level of anxiety as to what the future holds. But your education at Coram Deo has given you the requisite skills of selflessness and critical thinking that will allow you to succeed at whatever you put your hand to. It has given you the capability to progress, to impact the culture around you in the name of Jesus Christ. We have in our midst those who will become lawyers that will protect our fundamental freedoms; doctors that will heal mental and physical wounds; members of the federal government and the Air Force that will protect our security; engineers that will create new tools; musicians that will create new culture; educators that will train the next generation of Americans; and many more. And while I cannot say that all of us here today will succeed by the standards of the world—that we will make six-figure salaries and have our names featured on the front page of Time magazine—I can say, with absolute certainty, that we can succeed by the standard of our Lord and Savior. For we are commanded in Philippians, “Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself.” If we live according to the Christian principles which we have been taught, then we will succeed in life as the servants of the Almighty God. We will know and foster true friendship and love, and we will construct a treasure that is not transient but eternal. For although the houses of Homer, Lewis, Wallace, and Wright will one day pass away, we will all live in the house of the Lord forever.
the Commencement forum, 2011
Landon Hobbs
Fellow graduates, families, friends, faculty and staff of Coram Deo Academy - it is today my honor and privilege, as salutatorian of the Class of 2011, to welcome you all to this year’s Commencement ceremony. It is hard to believe, even now, just how swiftly the years have passed. Yet here we are, one last time: to gather, to part, to celebrate, to shed tears, to commemorate our victories, to consecrate our future, to bid one final farewell. Nothing I can do or say can quite do justice to the bittersweetness of the occasion, but I would like to take a moment to reflect, with warm and thankful appreciation, upon what Coram Deo has meant to us, upon the mark it has left, in both human and educational terms, in our lives. Caught as we are, in Martin Luther King’s phrase, in an, “inescapable network of mutuality,” tied as we are, “in a single garment of destiny,” we rarely pause to consider the debt we owe to those with whom we daily associate, the debt we owe for who we are and for what we will become. I therefore want to extend, on behalf of the Class of 2011, our sincerest thanks to the faculty and staff of Coram Deo Academy. We will not forget you or the debt we owe you. And though we may have grumbled from time to time, though we may have taxed your patience (occasionally), we are and ever will be grateful for your labors. We will never forget our fabulous dissections with Mrs. Ligon in Biology; or our dialogues on the theological and comical dimensions of mathematics with our own stand-up mathematician, now headmaster, Mr. Rector; or how we entered with fear and trembling the gates of Medieval Literature with Dr. Heitschmidt, like
Salutatorian’s Speech
Dante crossing the threshold of Hell, dimly discerning the inscription left by those who went before us, “All hope abandon ye who enter here,” and yet how we left American Literature and History this year so much the wiser, and deeply appreciative of her guidance. We will never forget how Mr. Schaefer and Mrs. Lester and Mrs. Schober unlocked for us the secrets of the physical universe; or Mrs. Marshall’s unique and animated way of bringing the greatest works of modern European literature to life; or the openness and candor of Mr. Jordan’s Apologetics class. We will not forget the long nights translating and parsing Latin sentences, or crafting meticulously argued social-justice papers for Ms. Loe; or the sometimes heated but always enlightening debates in Theology with Mrs. Powell. And where would we be, without the tireless efforts of the administrative staff, of Mr. Ouille, and Mrs. Perry, and Mrs. Schaefer, and Mr. Lemley, and dozens more. To them, therefore, to all who have touched our lives, directly or indirectly, here at CDA over the last four years, I reiterate: Thank you. Thank you for all you have done for us, visible or invisible, acknowledged or not. But since any school, and therefore any educational experience, consists of an association of teachers and students, I would be remiss if, when reflecting on what Coram Deo has meant in our lives, I did not mention what we have meant to each other. And let me now state, that I have met, in my time here, some of the most considerate, honest, faithful individuals I have ever known. Indeed, if I may be allowed a small, personal admission, my greatest regret is simply that I did not come to know them better. Yet though I stress here that common decency and faith which – besides the accident of time and place – bind us together, just as important, perhaps, is the rich diversity of our talents and interests. We have, in our midst, instrumentalists of all types, athletes of all casts, writers of varied imaginations, poets with expansive visions, thinkers of wide and varied convictions. We have, also with us, future engineers, philosophers, business men and women, scientists, psychologists, artists, designers – representatives from every science and discipline. In this sense we are many, while we yet are one. Such are the memories with which we leave; such are the memories we will
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cherish. But beyond the personalities, and friendships, and mentors to whom we will always be grateful, we also bear, all of us, the common mark of that liberal education which is the raison d’etre of any educational institution, and which we will carry, develop, and refine throughout life. For a liberal education is not something passively received, but actively formed; not something simply learnt, in the sense that we learn brute facts, but a possession, “a habit of mind,” in Newman’s phrase, “of which the attributes are, freedom, equitableness, calmness, moderation, and wisdom…a philosophical habit.” This education is “liberal” because it, “stands on its own pretensions,” so to speak, is its own end and is independent of any further end, is desirable of itself without need to subserve the demands of economic utility; because it is liberating, freeing us from a mental servility which leaves us to be victims of knowledge rather than commanders of it, as Coleridge says, “like bats, but in twilight, [who] know and feel the philosophy of their age only by its reflections and refractions;” because by its breadth and depth it frees us from the partiality which must attend any one science when pursued exclusively or treated as the measure of all things, and gives us instead, not a cursory and shallow glance of the world of knowledge as a set of disparate facts, but a glimpse, a grasp, of the whole body of knowledge, and the mental facility to adjudge the relation of idea to idea and discipline to discipline. Liberal education is thus a description both of a type of knowledge on the one hand, and that type or quality of person, on the other, which it is meant to form and engender. Such, in a word, is my conception of the education which we owe to Coram Deo and for which we can only give humble thanks. In both human and intellectual terms, then, Coram Deo has laid the foundation; now, as we step forward into an uncertain but inviting future, it is our imperative to build upon it. And as we set our sights ever higher, and reach ever further, and excel ever more, I suggest that our appreciation for that foundation, that cornerstone, will only ripen and grow fuller with the edifice it will then support. So let us go fearlessly forward, but let us not forget from whence we came. Let us be lights to the world, but let us not forget that that light is borrowed, from sources created and uncreated. Let us not be consumed by regret, but let us reflect on the lessons of where we have been. And thanks to Coram Deo Academy, those lessons are manifold and enduring.
the Commencement forum, 2011
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A Day of Well-Deserved
Celebration
For this year’s seniors, Commencement 2011 was a day filled with celebration, sweet merriment and just a trace of recognition that their time together was brief. As they awaited the moment for which they had worked so diligently, their frivolity was palpable and their camaraderie clear. The years of late night studying, competition in the House System, on the athletic fields, and in debates had created an evident bond. And while upstairs, their mothers made sure tissues were on hand— downstairs, they were singing in raucous karaoke Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believing”, led by their very own mild-mannered valedictorian, Chapin Cavender. Preparing for their solemn entrance, faculty came over to say their hellos and goodbyes. The seniors’ love and admiration for their teachers shined through their face-splitting smiles and rib-cracking hugs. Then the students lined up and put on their best “Pomp and Circumstance” faces, fully prepared for the hour-long ceremony that would pronounce them graduates of Coram Deo Academy. Commencement Speaker Matt Chandler’s address is still well remembered and remarked on months later. Salutatorian Landon Hobbs’ and Valedictorian
Chapin Cavender’s speeches were well-written and well-presented tributes to the classical Christian education that all 30 graduates had received. Hundreds of thousands of dollars in scholarships were presented, diplomas bestowed, tassels turned, hugs most certainly given and the Class of 2011 processed out alumni. Once pronounced and processed, their excitement could no longer be contained and their lively levity continued. Were they celebrating the two National Merit Finalists and four Commended Scholars in their midst, or the two plus million in scholarships offered, or the acceptances to schools like Pepperdine, The University of Chicago, Maine Maritime Academy, Hillsdale College, Auburn University, and Rice University? Probably all of these. But beyond that, as their valedictorian so aptly said, ”Their education at Coram Deo has given them the requisite skills of selflessness and critical thinking that will allow them to succeed at whatever they put their hand to. It has given them the capability to progress, to impact the culture around them in the name of Jesus Christ.
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the Commencement forum, 2011
alumni
interviews:
Megan Best, Class of 2010,
is currently seeking a bachelor of arts at the University of Dallas with a major in English. She says that “It is a perfect fit and would not have been if not for CDA.” a fuller life along with an education Looking back, what does CDA that I had not even imagined prior mean to you? to my enrollment. The best thing The words “Coram Deo” remind I have learned at university so far me not only of the academic is the immense importance of a institution I attended, but also the literal translation “in the presence of liberal arts education; it provides an opportunity to approach the broad God.” I will never forget sitting at a wonders in and out of this bluelocal Christian school while taking green ball we call the Earth. Coram the SAT and reading a sign in the Deo Academy opened my heart and classroom that said, “Remember mind in ways that created a vast love Coram Deo.” It brought me such comfort to think of my own school’s for education, life, and our Maker. name and the meaning behind it. And this means more to me every Coram Deo Academy taught me a day that I live. lot of things, but the most important was the always present reminder What is your favorite memory of that wherever I go I am in God’s CDA? presence. I have countless enjoyable memories with every one of my teachers and How did CDA prepare you for classmates, but the memory that college and life? stands out the most in my mind is Let me count the ways: the day Mr. Schaefer (my 12th grade physics teacher) blessed our class 1) CDA prepared me for working with an out-of-this-world lecture full and thinking on my own which of snapshots from space taken and coincidentally mirrors the motto presented for the sake of pondering for the University of Dallas, “a university for independent thinkers.” the enormity of God’s handiwork. I was awe-struck throughout the 2) Throughout my high school entire lecture and very grateful for experience I learned time a presentation that did not require management, and that is a timeless complete comprehension. It is skill (pun intended). special and unusual for students to 3) I learned from every one of my teachers at Coram Deo that it is best see their teachers’ passion for their to pursue something that you love so subject, and Coram Deo Academy was the only high school I knew of that others will notice your passion that had educators like Mr. Schaefer. and feel inspired.
Beyond academics, did CDA improve you as a person?
Coram Deo Academy provided a safe and formational training ground for me not only in the education realm, but also in the very intimate areas of my life that include my own personhood and growth as a child of God. The Lord knew exactly where I belonged in eighth grade (my first year at CDA) and He brought me
What led to your choice of college?
During the college-search process I made a list of criteria that I found necessary for my undergraduate study. The most important criterion for me was the desire for a liberal arts university that rooted itself in Christian doctrines and classical literature. I found the University of Dallas, only forty-five minutes
from CDA and so similar that I sometimes describe it as the college version of Coram Deo Academy.
What is your greatest success?
I think the greatest success any human being can achieve is becoming who they are made to be. Since I am in the coming-of-age point in my life, parts of who I am have not surfaced; but I know that becoming who I am requires the extensive work of God.
What are your aspirations for the future?
I would love to teach children and young adults what Coram Deo taught me: reading is enjoyable!
Thoughts on the world today?
One of my favorite bands, U2, has a song entitled “When I Look at the World.” In my opinion, the song marvelously captures a glimpse of the Christ-follower’s dilemma. I see the speaker as a character who cries out to God because of the darkness he sees all around him. I interpret the words of the song as saying that in order to see this world with eyes of grace man must live very close to God. When I look at the world I see darkness right next to goodness and despair right next to hope. Music, poetry, and prose written with these dichotomies teach men how to live in a fallen world that was created good.
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Michael Sobolik, Class of 2007,
the Commencement forum, 2011
studied at CDA for 6 years before attending Texas A&M. He recently finished an internship at The Heritage Foundation and is returning to A&M in the fall to persue a Masters in International Affairs at the Bush School of Government and Public Service. drawing your peers to participate Looking back, what does CDA in it, you begin to think like a mean to you? While I was at CDA, my friendships teacher. I realized this after my first classroom-led discussion of college with students and teachers meant ended when my professor told me the most to me. The small classes that I had addressed every single really cultivated a closeness among topic he would have chosen had he the students of my class, and it still been the leader. I didn’t see his notes continues today. My closest seven beforehand, but I did attend a high friends of ninth grade were just as school that trained me to approach close senior year, and we still hang my studies in a mature way. This is out today. CDA blessed me with an advantage that every student at lifelong friendships. CDA possesses, whether they realize Looking back now as a college it or not. graduate, I also see CDA as a blessing from my parents. Like so many other couples, they decided to What is your favorite memory of go the extra mile and pay for their CDA? children’s private education on top I really hit the jackpot after high of paying public school taxes. I school graduation. Because probably wasn’t mature enough to we qualified for the nationals appreciate that at the time, but it tournament in our debate league, a really is a big statement to make as a few of my closest friends and I got parent-- that you care so much about to road trip to the tournament...with the content and quality of your Mr. Rector. He picked all of our child’s education that you would pay restaurants and selected all of our above and beyond the minimum for music, which meant we ate a lot of something better for them. I’m very ribs and listened to a lot 70s classic grateful to them. rock. It was a trip for the ages!
How did CDA prepare you for college and life?
“Where did you go to high school?” This was the first question my freshman history professor asked after I concluded the class discussion. Because it was an honors course, every student was required to lead a discussion one day out of the semester. That sounds a little familiar, doesn’t it? It should, because that’s what I did my entire senior year in Dr. Heitschmidt’s history class. Some of you may remember the days when Mr. Dwyer was around; he had us leading history discussions as early as eighth grade! Doing this for five years does something to the way you think. When you approach academic content with the goal of generating a discussion about it and
What is your greatest success?
During my final semester as an undergraduate at Texas A&M, I was accepted into the university’s Public Policy Internship Program. With this program’s assistance, I received an internship offer from The Heritage Foundation. Shortly after the internship began, I was assigned the task of assisting a research fellow with his project on assessing early American foreign policy, specifically regarding trade and diplomacy. I was visiting the Library of Congress twice a week, compiling comprehensive lists of treaties and procuring exhaustive records of exports and imports. Through this project, I learned more about research in three-and-a-half months than I did in three-and-a-half years at college. But the Heritage
experience was more than work. On a weekly basis, experts at Heritage would gather the interns together and tell us about their research, current policy debates, and relevant conservative solutions. Additionally, my office would host a weekly lunch for interns and Heritage staff which included a lecture on the founding principles of America. The assistant director in our department also organized a weekly intern reading group, where we studied the original texts of America’s founding and the subsequent Progressive movement of the late 19th and early 20th century. Through both meetings, my knowledge and understanding of our Constitution and the exceptionalism of America grew tenfold. Heritage also allows their interns to publish blogs on Heritage’s website. When I could find time away from my research project, I authored blogs about Hungary’s new constitution and the “Arab Spring” uprising in Egypt. Another exciting weekly event was Heritage Congressional Fellows. Every Friday, my department would meet with congressional staffers on Capitol Hill and educate them in America’s founding principles and their application to current policy debates. I greeted the staffers and sat in on the lectures with them, giving me a unique peek into daily life on the Hill. All in all, my time at Heritage was one of the most rewarding experiences of my life.
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the Commencement forum, 2011
Presenting The Class of 2011
We pray that your endeavors are blessed Name
Honors
Preston Dean Ash
University
Major
Emory & Henry College
Psychology
Hannah Marie Bowen
Magna Cum Laude
Ouachita Baptist University
Music Education
Margaret Elise Bullock
Summa Cum Laude
University of Texas-Dallas
Biomedical Engineering
Chapin Earl Cavender
Summa Cum Laude
University of AlabamaBirmingham
Biomedical Engineering
Dillon James Davidson
Maine Maritime Academy
Marine Transportation
Hunter Matheson Christopher Deal
Collin College & then to Texas State University
Electrical Engineering
Andrew Myatt Drennan
University of North TexasCollege of Music
Music Concentration
Karlie Dawn Flanagain
Magna Cum Laude
Dallas Baptist University
Education and Counseling
Grace Elizabeth Frank
Summa Cum Laude
Patrick Henry or Covenant College
Strategic Intelligence or German
Marcus David Goodwin
Magna Cum Laude
Scott Community College & then to University of Iowa City
Creative Writing Foreign Language
Jessica Marion Gregory
Magna Cum Laude
University of Texas-Arlington
Athletic Training
Amy Elizabeth Harrington
Cum Laude
University of Texas-Dallas
Marketing
Landon Mark Hobbs
Summa Cum Laude
Pepperdine University
Philosophy
Clayton Hale King
Summa Cum Laude
Texas A&M University
Aerospace Engineering
Hillsdale College
Undecided
Magna Cum Laude
University of Texas-Dallas
Engineering
Brookhaven Community College & onto Savannah School of Art and Design
Fashion Merchandising
Nicholas Todd Lewis Cameron Allen Meyer Danielle Marie Miller Zachary Thomas Moer
Magna Cum Laude
United States Air Force Academy Prep School
Civil Engineering
Jessica Briann Neill
Magna Cum Laude
Texas Tech Univeristy
Pre-Law
Bailey Ann Newlan
Cum Laude
Belmont University
International Business
Angela Jayne Niemirowski
Magna Cum Laude
University of Texas-Dallas
Speech and Language Pathology
Natalie Christine Osenbaugh
Magna Cum Laude
Baylor University
Business
Collin College & onto Texas A & M University
Architecture
Ava McKenzie Pierce Ashlyn Elizabeth Royall
Summa Cum Laude
Baylor University
Undecided
Jessica Robyn Sanchez
Summa Cum Laude
Auburn University
Anthropology
Andrew Pavel Scott
Magna Cum Laude
Texas A&M University
Electrical Engineering
Benjamin Lott Shadrick
Cum Laude
Texas A&M University
Civil Engineering
Stephanie Danielle Sharp
Magna Cum Laude
Northern State University
Psychology
Parker David Smith
Magna Cum Laude
Texas Christian University
Business
Tarrant County College- & onto the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill
MBA and Music Production
Derek William Wenth
2002-2011 College Admissions & Acceptances
228 Graduates Total~ Matriculated Colleges in Bold ~ *Class of 2011 Matriculation or Acceptance *Abilene Christian University Mary Hardin Baylor United States Air Force Academy *Auburn University *LeTourneau University United States Coast Guard *Austin College Lubbock Christian University Academy *Baylor University *Maine Maritime Academy United States Merchant Marine Benedictine College Midland College Academy *Belmont University New York University United States Military Academy Biola University North Central Texas College United States Naval Academy *Boston College *Northern State University *University of Alabama-Birmingham *Collin College Northwestern Preparatory School University of California-Fresno Carnegie Mellon University *Ouachita Baptist University *University of Chicago *Colorado School of Mines Ohio State University University of Colorado-Boulder Concordia University Oklahoma Baptist University University of Dallas Covenant College Oklahoma City University University of Edinburgh Columbia College *Oklahoma State University *University of Houston The Culinary Institute of America *Oral Roberts University *University of Iowa *Dallas Baptist University *Patrick Henry College University of London (England) Duke University *Pepperdine University University of Missouri, Rolla *Emory and Henry College Purdue University *University of North Texas Fordham University *Rice University *University of Oklahoma Franklin College-Switzerland Rogers State University University of Portland Georgia Institute of Technology *Southern Methodist University University of St. Andrews (Scotland) Geneva University Saint John’s University University of St. Thomas-Houston Harding University Taylor University University of Texas *Hillsdale College *Texas A&M University *University of Texas-Arlington *Houston Baptist University *Texas Christian University *University of Texas-Dallas Howard Payne University Texas State University University of Texas-Tyler Illinois Institute of Technology *Texas Tech University Westmont College *James Madison University Texas Women’s University *Wheaton College *John Brown University Union University *Willamette University Johnson and Wales University *United States Air Force Academy William Jewell College Kings College Preparatory School
Notable Scholarships, Honors, or Admittance to Special Programs Congressional Nominations and Presidential/Chancellor Scholarships at: Appointments to: Abilene Christian, Auburn, Baylor, U.S. Air Force Academy Concordia, John brown, LeTourneau, U.S. Coast Guard Academy Oklahoma City, Oral Roberts, Taylor, U.S. Merchant Marine Academy Texas A&M, Texas Christian University, U.S. Naval Academy Union University, University of Alabama- Birmingham & William Jewell Universities
Entrance to Honors Colleges at: Abilene Christian, Baylor, Texas A&M, Texas Christian University, Texas Tech, University of AlabamaBirmingham, University of North Texas & University of Texas-Dallas
Coram Deo Academy Locations Collin County Campus 2400 S. Hwy 121 Plano, TX 75025 Phone 469.854.1300
Dallas Campus
6464 E. Lovers Lane Dallas, TX 75214 Phone 972.385.6410
www.coramdeoacademy.org
Flower Mound Campus 4900 Wichita Trail Flower Mound, TX 75022 Phone 682.237.0232