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ORAL HISTORY

Enoch Rosas

Enoch Rosas was born in Waco, Texas and began working as a dishwasher at a fast food restaurant when he was sixteen. Eager to avoid the abusive treatment he witnessed front of house fast food employees enduring from clientele, Rosas eventually secured a serving position at a local restaurant, Papa Rollo’s Pizza, and pushed himself to develop his social skills so as to charm his customers and make good tips. Rosas found he was a natural when it came to hospitality, gifted at remembering his regulars and their orders and proactive when it came to  attracting clientele (he took the initiative to buy a calendar and a portable speaker for the restaurant, the better to entice customers on game days). 

While Rosas enjoyed working as a server and felt that he could make a better living with his subminimum wage and tips than a typical minimum wage job, the punishing schedule and lack of health insurance and managerial support began to take a toll. Rosas completed his bachelor’s in applied science in business at Tarleton University and began transitioning out of restaurant work to get his foot in the door as a compliance specialist at Neighborly, a home services company. He enjoys his work at Neighborly, and he continues to supplement his income with a weekend serving job at Shorty’s Pizza Shack.