Shondiin Mayo is the daughter of Violet Hunt of Ts’aa Bii Kin, Arizona, and Randy Mayo of Stevens Village. Her maternal grandparents are the late Jean Tallman of Ts’aa Bii Kin, Arizona, and the late Harry Hunt of Naataanii Nez, New Mexico. Shondiin’s paternal grandparents are the late Marjorie Sam of Stevens Village and the late Tucky Mayo of Rampart.
Shondiin earned a bachelor’s degree in 2021 from Northern Arizona University (NAU), where she studied creative media and film with an emphasis on documentary filmmaking. After graduating, Shondiin became a reporter for the local television news station KTVF, a production assistant for a media company based in Anchorage, an intern at Doyon, and most recently, partnered with CBS to raise awareness on the importance of Indigenous representation in media. After much clarity, she is now pursuing a Master of Arts degree in Communication from NAU.
Shondiin’s upbringing in Stevens Village and the Navajo Nation inspires her to capture the traditional ways of living and knowledge that Indigenous people have with the environment. In her free time, she is preparing as a candidate for the 2023 Miss Alaska USA competition, in addition to spending time outdoors skiing, making snowshoes, and learning how to sew a sunshine ruff.
