Melissa Samano-Nantz has six younger brothers, including Alvin, Daniel Don, Thomas and Christopher. Besides being with her family, Samano-Nantz likes to read, watch Netflix and hang out with friends. She enjoys reading fiction books and her favorite tv shows are currently iZombie, Once Upon a Time and Beauty & the Beast. Samano-Nantz’s favorite place to relax is Florida and Colorado, where she goes on vacation, because of the beaches and the mountains.

The people who have impacted her life are her grandpa and her neighbors. “They give me a lot of good advice. My grandpa and neighbor have given me advice on responsibilities and life in general,” Samano-Nantz said.

A moment that has had the biggest impact on her life is when she was told that her mother was diagnosed with cancer. If that never happened, Samano-Nantz said she would have never moved to Iowa and she “wouldn’t have grown up as the same person.”

Going to the Dallas Center-Grimes finals for show choir her freshman year is Samano-Nantz’s favorite school memory. While in high school, she has participated in volleyball, basketball, track, chorus, show choir and culinary arts.

When she was younger, Samano-Nantz wanted to be a kindergarten teacher because she really liked the one she had. However, after high school, she plans to go to massage school or work for a year and then attend school. She came to the decision of attending massage school because her mother used to practice on her and her siblings and Samano-Nantz decided giving massages is something she enjoys. Many people have also told her that she is good at giving them.