Sam was born and raised in Honolulu, Hawai`i. She moved to Massachusetts to earn her undergraduate degree from Wellesley College where she studied economics and political science. After college, Sam moved back home to work in the housing division of the Legal Aid Society of Hawai`i. There she led the housing test case program – which worked to identify and combat housing discrimination – and assisted with cases of wrongful eviction during the COVID-19 eviction moratoriums. She then moved back to Massachusetts to work as an economic consultant, where she assisted industry and academic experts in analyzing the economic impact of antitrust, labor, and energy cases. At Princeton, Sam plans to further develop her analytical skills and knowledge of public finance in order to implement research and community-informed policy after graduation.