Sally Ann Mandujan

I’m a mother to one beautiful and loving son, a daughter to a most tenacious 90 year old man and sister to two older brothers. I’m a teacher by training and currently freelancing as a home-school consultant and academic coach.

Q: Please tell us a little bit about your family.
Both of my parents were from families that labored in the fields and followed certain crops. Both settled in the Delta and Isleton is where my parents met and were married. My dad and uncles sought employment at the Rice Mill and all decided to put down roots in West Sacramento. It was really wonderful for my two older brothers and I to be able to grow up surrounded by so many of our cousins, aunts and uncles.

Q: Please tell us about your current, past, or future career. What do you love most about what you do?
I have always loved math so I went back to school at 30 with the idea of becoming a math teacher. By helping out a classmate I ended up becoming a full-time tutor, scribe and reader for my peers with disabilities while I was enrolled at Sac City. From those early experiences watching the way my peers developed impressive compensatory strategies to engage with the learning process, I decided to pursue a career as a special education teacher and currently I am doing some post-lockdown education consulting helping families create effective learning spaces at home and in the community. Teaching is such a soulful and social activity and it brings the most interesting people and experiences into my life.

Q: What are a couple of your favorite restaurants in our community?
Anything that is local and family owned has my business and my stomach! I do have a deep affection for tacos de lengua…just feels like home and I am thankful that we have a number of local taquerias that do them well. I’m also fond of the Kabob Corner, love getting my alkaline water and shaved ice at Water & Salt on the reg and stopping in for the huge and delicious flatbread next door at Ariana Market. My dad and I both love Casa Jalisco…the family is so welcoming and the food is fantastic. I have declared my love for Lenise’s coconut milk lattes and hummus wraps on social media more than once over the past several years and I feel the same about the fish burritos and salsa verde at Doña Chuyita’s. Have I run across the street to Whitey’s for an order of fried mushrooms on the way home? Yes. Recently, my dad talked me into trying Peace Cuisine-I loved it! The pot stickers were amazing and the service was top notch! A family favorite for the food and the ambiance is Tree House Cafe…the patio is the perfect place to it down and catch up with your people. I do miss La Rosa Market…hope they are able to re-open soon!

Q: How long have you lived or worked in our community?
My parents happily settled into West Sacramento to raise kids and make memories so I have been here in West Sacramento all of my 55 years. I have never worked for our local school district but I’d like to!

Q: Who is the most interesting person you’ve met here in our community?
Gosh, it would be difficult to name a single person. I used to drop off and pick up my dad from the VFW and I loved to belly up to the bar and listen to all the old timers swap stories about their early starts in the community. Another thing I have always loved about growing up here is that no one really seems to leave! I’ve always thought it was so great as I got older to run into my high school teachers running errands around town just as I was and now just so sweet to run into one of my son’s teachers and have a connection through a memory from his childhood.

Q: If you could travel anywhere in the world right now, where would it be and why?
I’ve been fortunate to have a job that allows for long summer breaks and travel which has mostly been flying into Mexico and renting cars to discover backroads and sleepy towns…that never gets old for me. When my son turned 18 he and I backpacked through Vietnam taking a long leisurely month to meander the country top to bottom gaining about 10 pounds each along the way! I wouldn’t mind a return to Southeast Asia but I have also wanted to visit Turkey and Egypt.

Q: What is one of your favorite movies? TV shows?
Alien because it’s just flat out fun to watch! Grease because that soundtrack is perfect for road trips and spring cleaning and Hustle & Flow because that it just breaks your heart in all the most important ways if trying to understand is the goal.

Q: What advice would you give to people?
Find a used book store and buy books to read and to share! During the early stages of the pandemic and lock down, I came face to face with a stack of books I had purchased but not yet read. I was stunned at how hard it was for me to just be still or to lean into a book for more than an hour…that muscle has to be developed and maintained so buy and share books!

Q: What is something on your bucket list?
I have a dream to build a fully inclusive community-based school that makes the whole town a classroom and I’m happy to report that I found my village and we are bringing this project to fruition now!

Q: What is your go to band when you cant decide what to listen to?
George Jones, early Kanye, Nirvana and Lana del Rey get a lot of play in the car.

Q: What current or former local business makes you the most nostalgic about our community?
Walking up to the window at Whitey’s brings just a flood of memories from my childhood and of my son standing on his tiptoes, fingers gripping the ledge to place his order! But you know I get that same feeling walking into CVS which feels like Thrifty’s to this day.

Q: If you could choose anyone that is alive today and not a relative; with whom would you love to have lunch? Why? And where locally would y’all meet for this lunch?
Uhm, I’d fancy a picnic with Jerry Brown anywhere as long as there was plenty of paper and pencil and if possible a whiteboard-that guy fascinates me!

Q: What is your favorite thing or something unique about our community?
A new favorite thing is people like you Bahman who do warm and wonderful things like this! There is a very strong sense of community in this town and it permeates whether you’ve been here one year or 50…I’ve worked in a lot of communities in the greater area as a teacher and I think Yolo County in general is unique in it’s feel as a tight knit community.

Q: Where do you see yourself in 5 to 10 years?
Hopefully, healthy and with family willing and able to do whatever the moment calls for.

Q: (Even for friends or family), what is something interesting that most people don’t know about you?
What most friends and family don’t know…that I will be calling on all of them quite heavily in the next few weeks to get onboard with your awesome community building project!

Q: What is the most beautiful place you have ever been?
My son and I did an all day hike from Sa Pa, Vietnam up towards the Chinese boarder to do a home stay and every vista was left us slack jawed, but across my lifetime I have caught some stunning sunsets driving home through the Delta. I’m so grateful for everyone who is fighting against the tunnels.

Q: Favorite month? favorite holiday? and best single day on the calendar?
Uhm, I really despise the commercial trappings of Xmas, but December is my birthday month so that’s always a good time…and so is Halloween!

Q: What would you rate a 10 out of 10?
The older I get…being forgiven and feeling loved.

Q: Who inspires you to be better?
My son was 90 when he was 5 and now he is 31. I have been gifted a wise old soul who is teaching me about all about perfecting the balance of grit and grace.

Q: What is one or two of your favorite smells?
Old churches in little towns across Mexico and coffee brewing in the morning.

Q: What is one business you would like to have in West Sacramento? (which we don’t have one already)
A bookstore would be nice-and also a skating rink.

Q: Finally, what 3 words or phrases come to mind when you think of the word HOME?
No words-just sensory memories…kicking off shoes, dropping coats, purses and bags at the door and sliding my feet into my slippers…