Samantha Fister was born and raised in Lytton, Iowa. She is a marketing major and sophomore at Morningside University, where she is currently a cheerleader. The youngest of three siblings, Fister has two older brothers, both in their thirties. Her mom currently works at a countertop company and her dad works on farm equipment.

Fister’s idol is Emma Chamberlain. When asked, she said this is because Chamberlain “is so young and so successful. Throughout all of her fame, she has stayed true to herself.” Fister does not follow sports as they do not interest her. She used to be a waitress, which has been her only job to date.

Fister decided to come to Morningside because she “liked the small school atmosphere” and it was “close enough to home but also far enough away to still enjoy myself.” She also said her favorite class taken so far was Women in Literature, which she enjoyed because “the books were very interesting and we read a variety of different books from different eras that all had a general theme of gender roles in literature.”