Nahomi Galindo had never lived away from home. When she arrived at Andrews University for graduate school, everything felt unfamiliar: the distance from family, the weight of a new chapter and the quiet ache of losing her grandparents, who had shaped her spiritual life. She had prayed for a place to reconnect with her faith, and when the option to live in newly renovated student housing came about, it felt like a direct answer to her prayers. Nahomi took the opportunity, moving into Timber Ridge Apartments.
Then came the deer.
“Seeing deer outside my window made me feel like I would have a pleasant stay here,” Galindo shares. “It gave me peace.”
That peace was not accidental. Timber Ridge Apartments were designed with a simple conviction in mind: students deserve spaces shaped with intentionality. Located a five-minute drive from the main campus, the apartments offer 83 modern units—primarily one-bedroom units—for single students aged 22 and older.
“University Apartments were experiencing a housing shortage due to high demand,” explains Shirley Alonso, assistant dean for University Apartments. “Transforming Timber Ridge from a community apartment complex allowed us to create modern units for students looking for a balance between independence and community.”
The renovation required collaboration. The General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists provided significant financial support, Nexus Build Group LLC led construction and numerous University departments worked behind the scenes to bring the project to life.
Today, residents enjoy renovated spaces in a peaceful wooded setting, with amenities including a fitness center and laundry facilities. Students are most impacted, though, by how the overall environment makes them feel. They experience just enough separation from the main campus to draw a clear line between academic and personal life—a boundary many say has been essential to their well-being.
For Galindo, the Timber Ridge community became her “safety net,” nurturing her faith as her grandparents once did. Whether studying, gathering with friends or finding a quiet moment to pray, the space holds room for all of it. “I couldn’t believe it,” she says. “Now that I’m here, I feel like I am at home.”
Her experience reflects what many residents describe. The apartment-style environment encourages independence while offering the support students expect from Andrews, helping them build confidence and skills they carry beyond graduation.
More than a renovation, Timber Ridge prioritizes meeting students where they are and creating spaces where independence, faith and community grow together. For Galindo, who arrived at Andrews carrying both grief and hope, it became exactly what she had prayed for.
