Motunrayo "Tutu" Olaniyan is a third-year doctoral student in the developmental psychology program. Through her research in the Adolescent Social Adjustment lab, she examines how race-related stress uniquely impacts the overall well-being of minority students. Under the guidance of Dr. Ronald Taylor, Tutu studies racial authenticity, which is how we internalize the social ideals and expectations of our racial group's culture and experiences.

Often, societal norms lead people to conform to the imposed standards perceived to be characteristic of their racial group. Tutu is interested in understanding how social influences and perceived norms impact how adolescents construct their identity and how they navigate new and diverse environments, such as college. She aims to explore how racial authenticity contributes to an individual's sense of belongingness to their racial group, and how adolescents adapt to challenges to their authenticity. By examining these relations, she aims to better understand how individuals evaluate themselves based on social ideologies.

Tutu is also interested in relating her work to racial disparities in research participation, an area in which she was involved prior to enrolling in the Psychology doctoral program at Temple University. Before coming to Philadelphia, Tutu worked in Washington, DC at a non-profit health advocacy organization focused on leveraging the voices of marginalized communities and involving participants directly in the research process. This experience cultivated her passion to work with disenfranchised communities and research how social, cultural, and economic factors distinctly influence the mental and behavioral health outcomes of minority youth.

This year, Tutu received a First Summers Research Initiative (FSRI) award from the Graduate School at Temple to support her research on the relations among race-related stress, familial support, and adolescent behavioral and mental health outcomes. Upon completing the developmental psychology program, Tutu plans to join a participant-centered organization, and work towards involving more underrepresented communities and individuals in the research process. She hopes that research continues to move towards examining racial inequality as well as highlighting the importance of race and ethnicity in adolescent development.