Making Dreams Come True

"Sandy treated people with love and respect and always encouraged young people to follow their dreams. With this scholarship in her memory, her legacy of love and support lives on.   

It is our hope that this fund will help make it possible for local students with a passion for the culinary arts to live their dreams and become chefs."   

– Tamateru Kodama

Through the Sunao Sandy "Mom" Kodama Memorial Scholarship Fund, the life and contributions of a special woman with an extraordinary gift for making people feel at home, are honored and remembered.

Sandy was born April 24, 1931 in New York and then raised in Wahiawa. She married Tamateru Kodama in 1953 and together they raised five sons and a daughter. When her children were grown, she helped at a friend's catering service until her son, D.K., expanded his Sansei Restaurant in 2000 from Maui to Honolulu. She became the hostess at her son's restaurant and customers and staff alike embraced her as "Mom" Kodama.

Thanks to the generosity of the Kodama family of Aiea, an endowed scholarship was created in her memory. This scholarship supports students enrolled in the culinary program at Leeward Community College, with preference given to students who graduated from a Hawaiʻi high school.