For Immediate Release
Contact: Lea Ann Scales
Assistant Vice President of
Public Relations and Marketing
Phone: 508-929-8018
October 11, 2011
The Worcester State University Diversity Lecture Series continues tomorrow with the second lecture in the series featuring Marc Elliot and his presentation, “What Makes You Tic?” Wednesday October 12 at 11:30 a.m. in the Student Center Blue Lounge. The talk is free and open to the public.
Two days after Elliot was born, he was diagnosed with a rare birth defect called Hirschsprung’s disease. His doctors discovered that he had barely any working intestines.
Dr. Jessie Ternberg treated Elliot, he had seven experimental surgeries and was hospitalized off and on for four years. His medical challenges did not end there. By the age of nine, he was diagnosed with Tourette’s syndrome, a neurological disorder that causes him to make involuntary motor and vocal tics. As Elliot grew older, his tics manifested in all different forms, ranging from ‘ticcing’ inappropriate words to head convulsions, and blurting out random noises. In high school, he was a talented thespian, played sports, and was elected student body president of his high school. After graduating from high school, Elliot attended Washington University in St. Louis where he majored in biology, actively participated in a fraternity, and took the premed requirements in hopes to follow in the footsteps of his pediatric surgeon. After he graduated in May of 2008, Elliot embarked upon a speaking tour around the nation about tolerance. With his presentation, “What Makes You Tic?” Within his first year, he traveled to almost 25 states, internationally, and spoken to over 20,000 individuals across the country.
The Worcester State University Diversity Lecture Series is sponsored by the Student Center/Student Activities Office and Disability Services.
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