​​Samantha Lorenz dropped out of college at 18 because of legal trouble and financial debt. After encountering violence in her personal life, she became passionate about human rights and returned to academia. Samantha is currently completing her master's degree in anthropology with an emphasis in bioarcheology at California State University, Los Angeles, focusing on the evolution of violence.

Samantha helped excavate the remains of massacre victims in Guatemala in 2013 and is currently a forensic anthropology intern with the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner. Through her studies at California State University, Los Angeles, Samantha conducted archaeological investigations at the Naval Air Weapons Station in China Lake and with the Sacred Landscapes Archeological Project in Belize. Off campus, Samantha volunteered at the La Brea Tar Pits, Page Museum, and the Center for Human Rights and Constitutional Law.

Samantha's current research at California State University, Los Angeles focuses on ancient Mayan sacrificial victims from Midnight Terror Cave, Belize. She plans to continue her research as she moves towards a doctoral program in bioarcheology.