-
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/Ana Daccach

August 2015
A reference by Ana Daccach’s mother to The King’s Speech ultimately led her to Penn State’s College of Health and Human Development.
At the time, Daccach was considering becoming a doctor like her father, but as her high school graduation approached she became less certain that medicine was the right field for her. That is when her mother brought up the film, which depicts a speech therapist helping England’s King George VI overcome stuttering. Daccach’s mother also pointed out that Daccach’s brother worked with a speech therapist when he was younger.
“She saw that I was into careers that provided services for other people and that were related to medicine,” Daccach said. “She linked the passion the film’s speech therapist had with the passion she saw in me with helping others, so I investigated it and became interested.”
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. Daccach, who found a home in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders (CSD), is one of those HHD students, and this is her story.
As Daccach investigated speech pathology, she recalled her brother going to speech therapy to improve his pronunciation as well as her cousin with Autism who met with a speech pathologist. A CSD major with a minor in special education, Daccach, who is a resident of Ecuador, is carving out an area of expertise for herself.
“I love all of my CSD courses. I have learned I like the clinical side from my CSD courses,” she said. “At first I thought I wanted to focus only on pediatrics, but now I am interested in many areas, such as Autism, motor speech disorder dystharthia and problems with swallowing. My classes have helped me to see there isn’t just one option.”
Daccach is gaining experience by working in the Speech Production Laboratory in Ford Building with speech-language pathologist and Associate Professor Jimin Lee.
Dysarthria may produce unusually slow, unusually fast, slurred, or disrupted speech that is difficult for listeners to understand. Daccach is helping Lee study patients who suffer the disorder as a secondary result of ALS and other neurological conditions.
“The lab is about finding a way in which people can have better speech intelligibility, so I have learned from Lee’s methods on how to improve that,” she said. “I have an opportunity to learn about the difference between people who speak with normal intelligibility versus dystharthia and how to conduct research as well.”
In graduate school, Daccach hopes to begin studying the anatomy of bilingual speakers in hopes to ultimately improve pronunciation among people who speak a second language.
In addition to CSD, there are a variety of areas for students to study within HHD through the Departments of Biobehavioral Health, Health Policy and Administration, Human Development and Family Studies, Kinesiology, Nutritional Sciences, Recreation, Park, and Tourism Management, and the School of Hospitality Management. Learn more about HHD.