Krista Maroni visits the dining hall during lunchtime. Maroni began her Whitworth career in 2016 as a resident director.
Top Image: Associate Dean of Student Life Krista Maroni (center) and resident assistants Ismael Perez '25 (left) and Elise Schaaij '26 (right) enjoy a card game of Uno in Oliver Hall.
An essential part of the Whitworth educational experience happens in the residence halls. In these communal living spaces rich with tradition, intentional strategies and opportunities help students develop relational skills that will serve them well throughout their lives.
Krista Maroni, associate dean of student life, has led Whitworth Residence Life & Housing since 2021. Here, she shares about some of the program's special aspects, along with how "res life" supports students' mental health.
Q. What is the mission of Whitworth's residence life program?
A. Our mission boils down to three things: We want all of our students to respect differences, think critically and develop meaningful relationships.
Q. Tell us about the program you started, Two Friends and Something You Care About.
A. When I was a resident director, I would casually say, "If all of my residents have two meaningful friends and something they care about, then we are doing well." So, when I became director of residence life, there was a cool opportunity to actually make that a program. It reminds students that one of the foundational things you can do to have a meaningful life is to establish meaningful friendships. And having something you're passionate about or interested in is also a tool for connecting with people.
We have a strategy to carry this out that involves events and conversations between residents and RAs. My vision is that when students get their degree, Whitworth is launching them both with the competencies they need to be successful in their field and to go into a new community, create community and have a well-rounded life.
Q. How have students' mental health needs changed in recent years?
A. The change that's happened in the past five to 10 years is that students now have no stigmas around mental health. They are getting diagnosed younger, so they're usually coming to Whitworth knowing about their mental health diagnoses; they're not discovering them in college. And so that has shifted how we respond. We have a lot more students going straight into mental healthcare on their own without our interventions, which is great. That's personal responsibility.
We're also seeing all levels of social anxiety. That is the number one reason from students as to why they feel the can't do a variety of things. So, we've had to think a lot about how to help students understand that certain things might be harder for them based on their mental health, but they're still essential parts of life.
Q. How are student leaders trained to respond to mental health crises?
A. All of our student leaders, including RAs, are trained in QPR, which is Question, Persuade and Refer. That training gives them the basic skills to ask hard questions about whether someone is thinking about hurting themselves. It helps student leaders practice role-playing, gives them good language to use and dispels myths about mental health. We also do more than that in residence life, but we know every student leader across campus has QPR as a foundational skill set. That means there are a lot of students trained in mental health triage.
Q. Why are you proud of Whitworth's resident assistant program?
A. I think Whitworth has the hardest-working RAs of any institution. As a result, there’s a high trust among faculty, staff and students for the RA role. Also, being an institution that says "We are Christian, and we’re open to all students" means we really value that everyone can belong. I think our RAs are equipped with a skill set of inclusion that is beyond what most RAs get as work experience. I’m really proud of that.
This story appears in the spring 2025 issue of Whitworth Today magazine.