ERIC G. MCCULLIN

**** *********** **. **** *****: 410-***-**** acgq8i@r.postjobfree.com

Columbia, MD 21045 Cell Phone: 443-***-**** acgq8i@r.postjobfree.com

Education

• University of Maryland, Baltimore County: Bachelor of Arts in English, 01/2012 to

05/2014

Communications and Technology focus, Philosophy Minor

Baltimore, MD

• Howard Community College: Associate of Arts in General Education 08/2010 to 12/2011

Columbia, MD

• George Mason University: 29 credits 08/2009 to 05/2010

Fairfax, VA

Awards/Achievements

• 2013: Sigma Alpha Lambda membership

• 2009: Presidential Scholarship from George Mason

University

• 2008: National Honors Society

Skills

• Proficient use of Microsoft Office programs Word, Excel, Access

and PowerPoint

• Strong editing prowess with a critical eye for punctuation and

grammar

• Ability to manage several tasks at once

• Capable use of video recording equipment

• Training with the AutoCAD 2010 engineering design system

• Great broadmindedness of other cultures and reasonable customs

Related Coursework

Structure of English Spring 2012

University of Maryland, Baltimore County

• Developed advanced skills in the structure and use of written English.

• Wrote a treatise on the modern usage of synonyms.

Technical Communication Fall 2013

University of Maryland, Baltimore County

• Wrote four large technical documents based on the business writing style and formatting.

• Worked together with twelve other class members over the course of the semester to build

six smaller technical documents.

Introductory Engineering Spring 2010

George Mason University

• Developed basic skills in the concepts and practical applications of engineering.

• Constructed a functional catapult in conjunction with three other classmates.

Experience Athelas Institute, Incorporated 07/2009 to 08/2009

Vocational Instructor

• Help manage the career goals of 11 mentally disabled adults on a daily basis.

• Keep clients from injuring themselves or others through roughhousing or self-

endangerment brought on by their reduced ability to understand dangers.

• Set up for activities, such as coloring, walks, card games, and group exercise.

• Provide guidance and guardianship to clients during outings for both client work and

facility recreation.

• Monitor the behaviors of clients and reward them when positive behaviors are completed

and negative behaviors are avoided.

Community Service Hammond Middle School Outdoor Education Program 05/2010

Adult Volunteer

• Help launch, board, direct, and dock canoes and rowboats as part of the teaching team in

boating sports.

• Oversee up to 14 children, ages 11-12, as they paddled canoes and rowboats across a lake.

• Chaperone students who did not have a partner so that every individual could enjoy the

water sport.

What makes you Tic

By Eric McCullin

I cannot blink normally. I cannot control my face. I cannot even walk properly.

This is not the result of a seizure, though it may look like such. These are symptoms of something far more

consistent and unavoidable. I have Tourette syndrome, a neurological disorder that causes involuntary muscle

movements, speech outbursts, and feelings of anger.

Do you pity me yet? Don’t. My case is nothing to feel bad about. I’m under relative control; my case is

mild. There are others who suffer far worse than I do. Their lives are all but unlivable due to frequent spastic

movements and unhindered fits of rage. Don’t pity them, either they’d hate that.

In his book Tourette Syndrome, M. Foster Olive, Ph.D., describes the disorder in great detail. “Tourette

syndrome is a neurological disorder causing involuntary motor and vocal tics and affecting an estimated 200,000

Americans,” he writes. The symptoms generally first appear during elementary school, between the age of six and

eight. It is up to doctors to determine whether a child has Tourette syndrome, since parents and children likely don’t

understand the symptoms. My symptoms first surfaced around this time, though nobody in my school seemed to

notice or care. The disorder can sometimes mimic overstimulation or Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder another

ailment that causes fits and excessive muscle movements and a layperson’s diagnosis is unreliable.

The distinctive twitching and vocalizations associated with Tourette are known as tics. Though usually not

harmful, the symptoms can be distracting to the person or those around him or her. Coming in contact with a person

exhibiting symptoms is not dangerous; Tourette syndrome is non-communicable and does not cause any kind of

damage when regulated. However, in extreme cases, these tics can cause serious injury to someone suffering from

Tourette. Some cases noted by Olive include stamping a foot until the hip bone breaks and even stabbing oneself with

a knife. I have never had these sorts of impulses, though driving is a dangerous activity because I can lose half of my

field of vision thanks to twitches in my eyes, head, and neck.

Tourette syndrome is caused by mainly genetic and biological factors. From the genetic standpoint, several

different genes, the determining factors for traits such as gender, hair color, and baldness, have been identified as

possible causes. From the biological side, chemical imbalances in the brain could cause Tourette. Chemicals used by

the brain to trigger messages along the nerve pathways of the body can become poorly proportioned and send

messages to parts of the body that should not receive them. This causes the signature twitching and vocalizations of

the condition. I do not know where my Tourette syndrome came from, as no members of my family have a history of

the disorder. It may have developed from dormant genes, which surfaced by genetic chance.

Though Tourette syndrome has no cures as of yet, treatment is actually a simple affair. A single medication

out of a wide selection of prescriptions and regular visits to a therapist can ease symptoms drastically. I use

risperdone, the generic (cheap) version of tried-and-true medicine risperdal. The risperdone affects dopamine, one

imbalanced brain chemicals mentioned earlier. Risperdone and its contemporaries are known as neuroleptics, or

antipsychotics. Though side effects include sedation, dizziness, and restlessness, reducing my Tourette symptoms is

worth it. My therapists have also been of great help by letting me express my concerns and trepidations. There are

also Tourette support groups run by the Tourette Syndrome Association to help connect people with Tourette and form

a community bond between disorder sufferers.

As Olive points out, “Tourette syndrome is a biological malfunction of the brain.” This does not mean that a

person with Tourette is any less normal than any other person. Biology and genetics conspired against Tourette

syndrome sufferers to bring them unusual pain. For outsiders, this makes them easy targets for harassment. I, myself,

have never suffered for my twitching, though sometimes I become self-conscious about it. There is no shame in

Tourette syndrome the shame is in not caring enough to understand it.

Tourette syndrome is a fact of life for over 200,000 Americans. It is incurable and almost impossible to

suppress completely. Even with medication and therapy, symptoms can only be reduced by about 70%. As such, those

suffering from Tourette must simply live with the disorder. It really is a case of saying, “Oh well,” and moving on.

Next time you see somebody with uncontrollable movements, though, don’t glare and laugh internally. Show a little

sympathy or at least ignore them like you would anyone else on the street. That person will love you for it, I

promise.

Fracking Out: The Damages of Methane Mining in the Mid-Northeast U.S.

By Eric McCullin

Fracking, the process by which methane gas is mined from shale deposits, is destroying life and earth in the

mid-Northeast United States, said Dr. Sandra Steingraber, Ph.D., in a talk at UMBC on Monday, April 29.

Dr. Steingraber, a biologist and activist opposing fracking and other practices destructive to our environment,

gave the Korenman lecture less than a week ago for the college’s Gender and Women’s Studies progam. The talk took

place directly after her release from prison. She spent ten days in jail for civil disobedience when she and a group of

activists blocked off a compressor plant in New York that will be used for dangerous post-fracking practices.

Steingraber began her talk with a discussion of Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring, which she said was “the

ubiquitous book” of her childhood. She compared her experiences to Carson’s. “In many ways, my life has followed

a parallel to Carson’s,” she said. In her twenties, Steingraber was diagnosed with bladder cancer as a result of after

living in a town which drew its water from a polluted source. Carson experienced a had breast cancer and died from it

shortly after writing Silent Spring. In addition, both Carson and Steingraber stand as abolitionist voices for their

respective causes: Carson for the banning of nature-ruining pesticide DDT and Steingraber for nature-destroying

fracking. They both wrote books about their experiences and gathered support for their causes. Carson’s crusade

succeeded, and Steingraber stands firm in her conviction to see fracking eliminated.

Fracking is a mining shorthand for high-pressure horizontal hydraulic fracking (HHHF). HHHF forces a

pipeline into shale deposits, where natural methane gas sleeps. Explosives are sent down the pile to blast the shale

loose and expose the dormant methane. The miners then pump tons of silica sand and millions of gallons of water into

the pipe to bring the methane to the surface, where they can collect it. A chemical gel is used to deliver the sand. In

addition biocides chemicals used to eliminate any life in its path is forced down the fracking pipe to keep it clear of

critters and plants that could interrupt the system.

To Steingraber, fracking is “the DDT of our age in that it is ubiquitous and heavily promoted.” There are

three problems with fracking, she said First, the shale is a settlement of rock. Blasting it loose not only destroys the

cohesiveness of the system, but can damage surrounding land that depends on the rock for stability. Second, the rock

holds a subterranean ecosystem. “The earth is literally alive,” as Steingraber said. Creatures that normally do not see

the light of day die from the biocides, which hurts the ecosystem in general. Finally, shale holds more than just bugs

and methane: Other gasses and heavy metals slumber below the earth, as well. Radon, butane, propane, and other

periodic elements that humans should not encounter without safety precautions end up in the methane pumps. The

miners collect them and put them aside, as we currently have no storage system for these extra materials.

Recently, a company called Inergy negotiated a contract to transplant these substances into salt caverns

located below freshwater lakes, such as the Finger Lakes in New York, where Steingraber lives. From these

repositories, the chemicals could make their way into the drinking water of thousands of people, or millions

nationwide.

Steingraber stands against fracking for its parallel to DDT pesticide practices of the 1960s and its damage to

the environment. However, she also protests for another reason: Science as a public endeavor. Citizens affected by

fracking have been barred from taking part in crafting legislation on fracking, which is currently unregulated.

Steingraber believes that science is a public affair in general. It takes people to move science, not faceless entities.

“Science doesn’t happen in a vacuum,” she says, “it happens in a social milieu.” By protesting and educating the

upcoming working generation, Steingraber hopes to bring about social change that will make science safer for

everyone.

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