There are a few constants when navigating Auburn’s campus: It will rain — a lot. There will be people on the concourse trying to get your attention. The Chick-fil-A will be busy at lunchtime. When you walk into the Panda Express, Mrs. Z will be there to greet you.
Zeynep Bilgili, affectionately known by her coworkers and regular guests simply as “Z,” has been a constant presence at the campus Panda Express since its 2010 opening.
“I like to work in the campus because every day, I am seeing the same faces, and I know their orders most of the time,” Bilgili said. “I like to talk to them, and they know me too. It’s kind of fun when I see them every day.
Bilgili moved from Turkey to the United States with her family when she was only 19 years old.
She has lived in Auburn since then, and she said it was an adjustment to go from living in the big city of Istanbul to the Plains. However, Bilgili said she has come to enjoy living in such an “easy city,” where her commute to work takes only 20 minutes, rather than the three hours it would take in Istanbul traffic.
“I really like to be in Auburn,” she said. “I don’t want to go to Atlanta, or to the big city. I am feeling that I am safe in Auburn.”
Bilgili has a degree in tourism and hotel management, and she has worked in the food industry for over 15 years, both in and out of the U.S.
She said that she has often worked two or three jobs at a time.
Now Bilgili works primarily at the campus Panda Express, but she also works at the Opelika store on weekends. She said she occasionally also supports the Montgomery and Columbus, Georgia stores.
“Last May I opened the Opelika store,” she said. “Opening is kind of hard because you have to order everything, and you have to find the new associate [manager] and the new cook. … But it was fun because it was my first opening for a store.”
Bilgili and her husband Ilker, or “Ike” for short, have two children — 10-year-old Lara and 7-year-old Maya.
She said one of the reasons she enjoys her campus job is that it allows her more time with her family. The campus Panda Express often closes earlier than off-campus locations, and the University’s summer and winter breaks allow Bilgili time to travel with her family, sometimes to see her extended family in Turkey.
“Before COVID, we traveled a lot, actually,” she said. “Every break or every holiday, we want to go somewhere. I’ve been to New York; I’ve been to Las Vegas; I’ve been to Florida. I also like road trips.”
The beaches in Turkey are beautiful in the summertime, she said.
While she loves the freedom to travel, Bilgili said her favorite part of her job is forming connections with the students she sees every day.
“I like to be with the students,” Bilgili said. “They are sharing with me everything, like, ‘Oh, I’m going to graduate this year,’ or, ‘My family is coming to town.’ I like to be part of them. If something good is happening in their life, they are telling me.”
Her job at Panda Express has allowed her to connect with students with whom she has maintained friendships over the years, some of them also from Turkey. Getting to know her guests — and not just their orders, but their lives — is what makes Bilgili’s work rewarding.
“That’s why I’m here,” she said.
Karon Martin, Bilgili’s coworker at Panda and another familiar face to many students, has known her for almost five years.
“She can remember so many people’s orders,” Martin said. “She’s personal with the guests.”
Even when the Panda Express is busy, he said, the atmosphere that Bilgili provides is fun and even relaxed. He described her as funny as well, something her regulars and friends love about her.
Bilgili and Martin expressed their thanks to both Panda Express and to Aramark, but more particularly to their guests.
“We love Panda, and we love you,” Martin said, laughing.
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Emma Kirkemier, junior in English literature with a minor in journalism, is the campus reporter for The Auburn Plainsman.
