-
Health and Human Development
ExploreUp a level (this gets replaced in JS)
-
About
ExploreUp a level (this gets replaced in JS)
-
COVID-19 Response
ExploreUp a level (this gets replaced in JS)
-
Return to Research
Explore
-
Return to Teaching
ExploreUp a level (this gets replaced in JS)
- Creative Approaches to Teaching: Where to Start
- Adapting to Mixed-Mode, Remote, or Web-Based Teaching and Learning
- Assessments and Academic Integrity
- Policy and Safety Updates
- Technology and Library Resources
- Resources to Assist Faculty and Staff Support Student Welfare
- Remote Teaching and Learning
- Contact tracing in the classroom
- Supporting students in quarantine and isolation
-
Additional Resources and References
Explore
- Acknowledgement of Risk
- Travel Guidelines
-
Return to Research
- Environmental Health
- Overview of the College
- Meet the Dean
-
News and Events
Explore
-
Events
Explore
-
Profiles
Explore
-
Diversity and Inclusion
Explore
-
Awards
ExploreUp a level (this gets replaced in JS)
-
College Awards
ExploreUp a level (this gets replaced in JS)
-
Carol Clark Ford Staff Achievement Award
Explore
-
HHD Faculty Sustainability Award
Explore
-
Joyce Hopson-King Diversity Achievement Award
Explore
-
Ann C. Crouter Early Career Faculty Award
Explore
-
Evelyn R. Saubel Faculty Award
Explore
-
HHD Alumni Society Excellence in Teaching Award
Explore
-
Leadership in Outreach Award
Explore
-
Evan G. and Helen G. Pattishall Outstanding Research Achievement Award
Explore
-
Pauline Schmitt Russell Distinguished Research Career Award
Explore
-
Carol Clark Ford Staff Achievement Award
-
HHD Alumni Society Awards
Explore
-
College Awards
-
Commencement
Explore
- Employers and Industry
- Our Valued Partners
- History
-
Strategic Plans 2014-19
Explore
-
Strategic Plan 2021-25
Explore
- Subscribe, Listen, Learn: College Podcasts
- Donate
- Contact
-
COVID-19 Response
-
Undergraduate
ExploreUp a level (this gets replaced in JS)
-
Getting Started
Explore
-
Majors and Minors
Explore
-
Honors Program
Explore
-
Advising
ExploreUp a level (this gets replaced in JS)
-
Academic Integrity
Explore
- Academic Progress
- Advising Resources
-
Change of Campus
Explore
- Declaring a Major/Minor
-
Enforcement of Recommended Preparation
Explore
- Learning Support
- Petitions to University Policies and Procedures
-
Policies and Procedures
Explore
- Schedule an Appointment with Your Adviser
-
Undergraduate Adviser and Student Handbook
Explore
-
Contact
Explore
- Dean's List
-
Academic Integrity
- Student Organizations
-
Student Profiles
ExploreUp a level (this gets replaced in JS)
-
Biobehavioral Health
Explore
-
Communication Sciences and Disorders
Explore
-
Health Policy and Administration
Explore
-
Hospitality Management
Explore
-
Human Development and Family Studies
Explore
-
Kinesiology
Explore
-
Nutritional Sciences
Explore
-
Recreation, Park, and Tourism Management
Explore
-
Student Research
Explore
-
Biobehavioral Health
-
Study Abroad
Explore
- Take a Professor to Lunch
-
Financial Aid and College Scholarships
Explore
-
Leadership Initiative
Explore
-
Summer Session
Explore
- Dean's Welcome Meeting
- Parents and Family Association
-
Visit and Apply
Explore
-
Contact
Explore
-
Discover HHD
Explore
-
Career and Professional Development
Explore
-
HHD Instagram Ambassadors
Explore
- Undergraduate Research Grants
- Undergraduate Activities and Events
-
Getting Started
-
Graduate
Explore
-
Alumni
ExploreUp a level (this gets replaced in JS)
-
Events
ExploreUp a level (this gets replaced in JS)
-
Alumni Virtual Events
Explore
-
Distinguished Alumni Speaker Series
ExploreUp a level (this gets replaced in JS)
- 2021 - Derrick Campana
- 2019 - Ariel Clatty
- 2018 - James Fitzgerald
- 2018 - Susan Robinson
- 2017 - Janet Rosenzweig
- 2015 - Scott M. Smith
- 2014 - Mark McCamish
- 2013 - Patricia Hillkirk
- 2012 - Jill Jayne
- 2011 - Robert E. Hillman
- 2010 - Joanne Finegan
- 2009 - Mario Lafortune
- 2008 - Mary Ellen Clark
- 2007 - Wendy A. Owen
-
Alumni Virtual Events
-
Biobehavioral Health
Explore
-
Communication Sciences and Disorders
Explore
-
News
Explore
-
Get Involved
ExploreUp a level (this gets replaced in JS)
- Alumni Awards
-
Mentor a Student
Explore
-
Join an Affiliate Program Group
ExploreUp a level (this gets replaced in JS)
-
Biobehavioral Health APG
Explore
-
Communication Sciences and Disorders APG
Explore
-
Health Policy and Administration APG
Explore
-
Human Development and Family Studies APG
Explore
-
Kinesiology APG
Explore
-
Nutrition and Dietetics Alumni Society (NDAS)
Explore
-
Penn State Hotel & Restaurant Society (PSHRS)
Explore
-
Recreation Park and Tourism Management APG
Explore
- Get Involved with an Affiliate Program Group
-
Professional Golf Management APG
Explore
-
Biobehavioral Health APG
-
HHD Alumni Society
Explore
-
Health Policy and Administration
Explore
-
Awards
Explore
-
Hospitality Management
Explore
- Kinesiology
-
Alumni Profiles
Explore
- Nutritional Sciences
- Alumni Magazine
- Career Resources for Alumni
- Update Your Contact Information
- Volunteer Leaders
- Donate
- Contact
-
Events
-
Research
Explore
-
Contact
Explore
-
Departments
Explore
-
Outreach
Explore
-
About
- Archived Newsletters
- Scholarship Opportunities
Our Story/Melissa Minniti
August 2015
A tennis player most of her life, Melissa Minniti has always loved the components of the sport – the game, the fitness, and the functions of the body.
After experiencing an injury and going through recovery treatment, the junior kinesiology major decided she wants to help other people get back on their feet, too.
More than 4,500 Penn State students are enrolled in the College of Health and Human Development (HHD) studying a wide-array of fields, each committed to the concept of improving the quality of life for others. Minniti, who found a home in the Department of Kinesiology (KINES), is one of those HHD students, and this is her story.
A Schreyer Honors Scholar from Gaithersburg, Maryland, Minniti is majoring in the movement science option in the Department of Kinesiology, and minoring in nutritional sciences. She is a member of the Penn State women’s tennis team, where during the fall 2014 season she appeared in nine singles matches and seven doubles matches.
After getting a stress fracture while playing tennis, part of Minniti’s rehabilitation treatment included active isolated stretching. Active isolated stretching is a technique that involves gradually increasing the injured muscle’s range of motion again through repetitive and gentle targeted stretching. As Minniti went through the recovery process and learned more about the science behind it, she became interested in the field, she said, and decided she wanted to explore other recovery techniques for injuries.
Now Minniti is pursuing the studies of rehabilitation and sport fitness training. Since August 2014 she has been conducting undergraduate research with Stephen Piazza, graduate program director and professor in the Department of Kinesiology, in which she uses accelerometers to determine fall risk in patients with Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).
After college Minniti hopes to attend physical therapy school and one day open her own practice that combines rehabilitation services and sport fitness training.
She said her courses in the Department of Kinesiology have supported these interests and challenge her to look beyond what she learns in the textbook.
“I have come to understand the importance of not restricting yourself to what you learn in the classroom,” she said. “It’s important to get the applied science as well and not just the theory behind it.”
Minniti said her professors and advisers, who continue to emphasize to students how to get the most of their educations, have provided her with a multitude of career opportunities.
In July 2013 and 2014 Minniti held an internship at the Aaron Mattes Rehabilitation Clinic in Sarasota, Florida, where she treated and helped patients recover from pain and injuries using therapeutic techniques, including active isolated stretching and strengthening.
She also held an internship in the gait lab of Mount Sinai Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland, in June 2014, where she learned to calibrate, process, and run a gait test using markers and a foot pressure system.
“I really like helping people,” she said. “There’s a joy in seeing injured patients improve. Being an athlete I know what it’s like to be sidelined. I want to be able to give back to people and share what I’ve learned.”
Minniti said one of her goals in pursuing a career is to explore different options and modalities in rehabilitation that haven’t been tried before, in an effort to “expand the boundaries of the field,” she said.
“It’s quality over quantity,” she said about treatment. “I want to make sure people are getting better.”
In addition to KINES, there are a variety of areas for students to study within HHD through the Departments of Biobehavioral Health, Communication Sciences and Disorders, Health Policy and Administration, Human Development and Family Studies, Nutritional Sciences, Recreation, Park, and Tourism Management, and the School of Hospitality Management.