A person who desires to reach the top always starts from the ground up. One paves their way to become someone successful; sometimes this requires the right amount of hard work and dedication, oftentimes, this must also be armed with faith in yourself and in the Almighty God.
As for Gem L. Zeñarosa, a former BS Nursing student from the Our Lady of Fatima University- Quezon City Campus, and now proud founder of one of the fastest-growing shawarma franchises in the country –Turks– his road to success was certainly tough but that did not stop him from aiming high in life.
Born into a simple yet faithful family who knows the importance of education, hard work, and perseverance, Zeñarosa was raised in a home that believes a person can be whoever he or she wants to be if he or she works hard and prays for it. The kind of thinking his family has is what inspired the young Zeñarosa to pursue his education and dream big. Overcoming financial struggles as a student and looking back at the times he didn’t even have enough money to pay his fares, Zeñarosa expressed that he honestly never thought that he would have his own company someday.
He started Turks in year 2007 at the age of 26. Along with his wife, Angel Glo Zeñarosa, the two worked together to get into business. With the idea of bringing shawarmas into shopping malls– which was a challenge because malls refused to let such food stalls inside due to the beef’s aroma during its preparation– Zeñarosa crafted a food cart covered with glass to keep the food’s smoke and scent within the cooking area. The design he made permitted them to open their very first branch in SM Sta. Mesa. It was the start of his early morning runs to Balintawak to buy vegetables, then rushing home to prepare their product, and delivering them personally to their store –yet it was also the beginning of his first step towards success. Managing Turks hands on, it is no surprise how Turks currently has at least 498 branches all over the country and now has plans of expanding in Hongkong and the United States.
“The growth of our business, of our company is overwhelming and know I owe it first to God, then to our commitment to bring palatable, quality and fresh products to our customers, to our business partners/franchisees, to our staff and of course to our loyal patrons who trust our foods.” Zeñarosa explained.
Former students of the University such as Zeñarosa only prove that success is definitely achievable to those who work hard and pray harder. OLFU will unceasingly be proud of all of its students’ successes and achievements, big or small.