RACC Lab Honored with Community Service Award
Housed in the Department of Psychology, UMD’s Resilient Adaptation across Culture and Context (RACC) Lab was recently recognized with a community service award. Assistant Professor of Psychology Fanita Tyrell leads the lab, and said she and her team are proud to make a difference for the university’s neighbors.
The award was presented by the Ebenezer Church of God of Landover Hills, Md., which Tyrell said is known for serving members and visitors representing multiple nationalities.
For the past nine years, the church has held an annual back-to-school and community health fair called Save the City, which provides residents with free school supplies, groceries, health screenings, and family activities. For five years, the RACC Lab has been an event collaborator, participating in both the back-to-school event in the summer, and a Christmas toy and coat drive in December.
“We were given an award for our outstanding service and dedication to the community. Twice a year, we go to these events and share scientific information about brain and child development and mental health via trivia games with community members,” Tyrell said. “Our team is one of the most popular vendors on site. We have had kids hang out with our team for the entire event. The kids get to hang around college students and ask them intriguing questions, and their caregivers ask us about our programming and research.”
RACC Lab students also sometimes volunteer for the church’s food bank and free meal efforts, which are typically held once or twice a month.
The RACC Lab studies how different sociocultural processes influence youth’s capacities to exhibit resilience despite exposure to adverse life experiences, such as family separations, social injustice and inequity, exposure to war, child maltreatment, and natural disasters. The lab’s broader mission is to advance theory on resilience that reflects the lived experiences of youth and families from diverse and historically marginalized communities and inform the development and dissemination of culturally sensitive intervention programs and policies that will enhance the positive adaptation and resilience of children and their families.
Tyrell said that community members are always happy to see RACC Lab faculty, staff and students engaged in activities and acts of service, noting that children in the community especially enjoy interacting with college students. These connections lead to curiosity and engagement with research and learning opportunities; in turn, the RACC Lab team learns more about effective communication.
“Children and families are often very receptive to scientific information if it is shared in an accessible way. They usually want us to ask them more questions and will compare and debate the scientific merits of specific research findings. These interactions challenge our research assistants to think quickly and critically and teach them how to communicate effectively with individuals from different learning styles and cultural backgrounds,” Tyrell said. “It also gives us an opportunity to dispel misinformation and receive feedback from communities on how to do better science.”
The Department of Psychology supports the RACC Lab’s efforts by providing UMD “swag” to use as prizes and giveaways, reinforcing the RACC Lab’s connection with the community.
“This award recognizes our lab’s commitment and genuine desire to give back to our communities. It represents the loving community that we have built with Ebenezer Church of God during the past years, and what community-engaged partnership may look like when our hearts and motivations are in the right place,” Tyrell said.
Photos courtesy of Ebenezer Church of God
Published on Tue, Aug 25, 2026 - 1:22PM