Sam was born in Hong Kong and was raised in the Philadelphia suburbs. His professional aspiration lies in the intersection between infrastructure and international development. Starting off as an engineer, Sam obtained his bachelor's and master's degrees in civil and structural engineering at Lehigh University and is a licensed professional engineer. Sam has experience at private and federal agencies and has worked on projects ranging from urban development, water resource management to emergency post-disaster response. Concurrently with engineering, Sam has volunteered with NGOs and multilateral organizations. Sam has designed pedestrian footbridges in developing communities, served as a youth representative at the U.N. Secretariat, and taught English at a refugee center.