Shayna Mendez, freshman photojournalism major from Jamaica, has been passionate about photography since receiving her first camera from her grandfather at age 5.
Eventually, her passion enabled her to work in commercial settings.
At 16 and 17, Mendez took pictures for Dacx photography then lived in Miami for 9 months.
Now the Jamaican is studying photojournalism at Point Park University, which she hopes will lead her to covering real people in real conflict zones around the world.
“It’s a universal language, something anyone can understand. Once you have that camera you basically speak a language that anyone can understand,” Mendez said.
Mendez was born in Kingston and grew up in a coastal city in southern Jamaica called Portmore, St. Catherine with her mom and younger sister.
Life was hot, boring and full of beaches according to Mendez, and the majority of houses there looked alike since they were all built by the same housing company that controlled most of the area.
While families in Pittsburgh and other places in the United States are independent, families in Jamaica are encouraged to help each other grow and to put family first before anything else.
Mendez began her photographic journey with a picture of a flower.
Even though it wasn’t her most successful photo, it was her most symbolic one.
After taking that picture of a flower with her Kodak Instamatic 100 from her grandfather, she continued taking pictures of nature in Jamaica along with pictures of her baby sister.
Mendez was devastated when her grandfather passed away when she was 6, but he made her the inquisitive person she is today.
From an early age, Mendez wasn’t babied in the aspect of death.
“He was the type of person who treated you like an adult even when you were 5. I interpreted it as he was gone and never come back, but I would see him again; I was and still am confident that I’ll see him in heaven,” Mendez said.
She didn’t look into photojournalism as much because artistic talent wasn’t encouraged in Jamaica.
“I’d end up doing law if I didn’t realize photojournalism is where my heart lies; you can pursue your dreams no matter what,” Mendez said.
With her first photo agency experience at Dacx, Mendez hopes to work her way up to National Geographic.
“When I see agencies like National Geographic going about their work, it helps me get rid of stereotypes and understand things that I don’t get a chance to experience for myself,” Mendez said.
If she earns the opportunity, she’d like to go into different conflict zones and different cultures to help the world understand largely unseen things.
“Not everyone ends up at National Geographic, but if I do end up there it would be because of my own perseverance,” Mendez said.