CENTRAL PHILIPPINE UNIVERSITY

Autonomous Status granted by CHED – Sept. 16, 2024 – Sept. 15, 2027
ISO 9001:2015 Cert No.: CIP/5365/18/06/1061 – July 12, 2022 – July 8, 2025

By Cyrus A. Natividad


Ninfa Zarriz Esteban (2nd from left) will be serving Centralians as the president of the CPUAAI Concepcion Chapter.

What factor makes some people achieve or realize their plans despite so many difficulties and hurdles in the process?

One must have a desire from the very start—long before the opportunity even presents itself. Whether it’s an educational or professional pursuit, the strength of desire will heavily impact one’s realization of his/her dream.

The story of Ninfa Zarriz Esteban is about a desire to become a successful business woman.

Ninfa grew in a poor family that hardly assured her of an opportunity to go to college. However, she had a desire and she found a way to fulfill this desire through the work-study program at Central Philippine University. and finished her Bachelor of Science in Chemistry.

While working and keeping up with her studies to finish her BS in Chemistry degree, Ninfa encountered difficulties, such as her allowance not being enough for her food and other needs in school. One of the things she did to survive was to budget, not only her money, but also her ulam (viand): “I had to divide the large tabagak (dried anchovy) into three so I can I have ulam for breakfast, lunch, and supper. This was what I called the Large-T strategy”

After college, she worked as a teacher from 1981 to 1986. She became a full time business woman in the northern town of Concepcion later. Her desire was strengthened by her faith: in her belief that God would help her realize her dream.

Her small business eventually grew. In the process, she not only realized her dream, but she was able to support her four children so that they could lead successful lives. Two of them are now professional aircraft mechanics while the other two are chemists.

Ninfa now operates several businesses in Concepcion. Because of the blessings she has received from God, Ninfa extends help to poor parents in Concepcion.

Currently, she is the president of CPUAAI Concepcion Chapter. As part of her mission, she has encouraged the CPUAAI Concepcion Chapter to adopt as its first project to provide poor but deserving students scholarships.