By: Katina Rice-Davis, Staff Writer
katina@thewoodrufftimes.com
For Melanie Hembree Samol, caring for others is more than a profession — it is a calling.
A lifelong resident of Cross Anchor, devoted wife and mother, woman of faith and school nurse at Laurens Elementary School, Samol has spent more than two decades making a difference in the lives of children and families.
Ask her to describe herself, however, and she doesn’t begin with her career accomplishments.
“I am a simple girl that loves being in the country,” Samol said. “My husband Mark, and my children Gracie and Russ, are the most important people in my life. I love spfending time with my family and friends, and I absolutely enjoy feeding people.”
Several times a month, that love of family and friendship can be found around a cookout with friends — a fitting reflection of a woman who treasures relationships and the small-town community she calls home.
Rooted in Cross Anchor
Samol grew up in Cross Anchor and describes her childhood as one filled with friendship, laughter and the simple joys of growing up in a close-knit community.
“Some of my fondest memories of growing up in Cross Anchor are of the friends I have here,” she said. “We were, and many still are, like family to me.”
Her childhood days were often spent playing in someone’s yard and simply enjoying time together.
“I had the absolute best childhood,” she recalled. “It is wonderful to have so many shared memories with the people I grew up with.”
Her connection to the area continued through her years in the Woodruff school system. Among the educators who influenced her was her first-grade teacher, Linda Burton, known as Linda Browning at the time.
“We continued to keep in touch until her passing,” Samol said. “She was a wonderful teacher, peer and friend!”
A Calling to Nursing
As a child, Samol dreamed of becoming either a teacher or a nurse. Looking back, she believes she ultimately found a career that allowed her to experience both.
“For the past 23 years, I have gotten to experience the best of both worlds,” she said.
Her interest in health care began early. She remembers being fascinated when her brother had to wear a brace as a child and watching as adjustments were made to correct his condition.
Her desire to care for others deepened as she watched her grandmother live with Alzheimer’s-type dementia. Samol’s parents cared for her grandmother at home, with help from Samol and her brother. Family friend Pearlie Mae “Shirley” Jones also helped provide care.
“Mrs. Shirley was so kind and patient with my grandmother and was a godsend to our home,” Samol said.
Those experiences reinforced something she had already begun to understand about herself: She genuinely enjoyed taking care of people.
Samol graduated from Greenville Technical College’s Practical Nursing Program in December 1994.
More Than a Bandage
Today, Samol serves as a school nurse at Laurens Elementary School, where students range from K3 through fifth grade. One of the things she enjoys most about her work is that no two days are alike.
“I love the fact that I am able to watch my students grow from mere toddlers into preteens, and I get to experience them learning so many new things,” she said.
Working with such a wide range of ages requires flexibility. Each child is at a different developmental stage and brings a unique personality, home life and set of circumstances.
For Samol, being a school nurse means looking beyond the immediate medical concern.
“We take care of the whole child, not just the scraped knee,” she explained.
Sometimes that means addressing medical needs. Other times, it means recognizing that a child may need food, clothing, hygiene supplies or simply someone willing to listen.
“Each child that walks into my office brings with them a different home life, a different living situation and a different set of problems that they are dealing with,” she said.
Samol makes it a point to tell the students who visit her office that she loves them and hopes they have a great day.
“In some situations, we may be the only kind voice a child hears that day,” she said.
That perspective is at the heart of how she approaches her work.
Samol also wants parents and community members to understand that school nursing encompasses far more than treating minor injuries. School nurses may care for children with significant medical needs, including students requiring tube feedings, tracheostomies or catheterizations, while at the same time caring for a child who simply needs attention for a scraped knee.
“We love our students like they are our own children,” Samol said. “We only want the best for them. When they hurt, we hurt.”
Lessons From Her Students
Over the years, Samol says her students have taught her just as much as she has taught them.
They have taught her to appreciate different types of people, to laugh, not to take trivial things too seriously and to recognize that sometimes a child simply needs a hug.
“Hugs and peppermint,” she joked, “can cure so many of life’s problems!”
Her first days as a school nurse looked very different from today’s school nursing environment.
“I remember my first day. I had never worked in a school before,” she recalled.
She was handed a set of keys, shown her office and medicine cabinet and told to have a great first day. Fortunately, she had an assistant during her first week who knew the students and helped her learn the ropes.
Today, school nursing has become increasingly organized and technology-driven, with computerized records, medication carts, private offices and formal orientation for new nurses.
Through those changes, Samol credits supportive administrators and coworkers with helping make her career rewarding.
“I also have the best group of co-workers anyone could ask for,” she said. “They are always there to help when needed!”
Faith at the Center
Samol’s commitment to caring for others is deeply connected to her faith.
She is a lifelong member of New Hope Baptist Church in Cross Anchor, a congregation that has been part of her family for generations. Her parents and grandparents also grew up at New Hope, and Samol and her husband raised their children in the church.
Her parents and grandparents are buried there as well.
“I love my church and my community,” she said. “I truly believe the Lord led me to school nursing.”
Her faith has carried her through difficult seasons of life, and she says she continually prays for God’s guidance.
At New Hope, Samol is actively involved in children’s ministry and serves as the Women’s Ministry Director. Her passion for children is especially evident in her desire to help guide the next generation.
“We must share Jesus with the next generation,” she said. “If the church does not guide our young people, the world will.”
The women of New Hope are also involved in outreach projects throughout the year, including visiting people in the Cross Anchor community — and, fittingly for Samol, often bringing along something good to eat.
A Love for Small-Town Life
Samol’s love for Cross Anchor is unmistakable.
“I love the small-town life,” she said. “I don’t think that I could thrive anywhere else.”
She treasures the way neighbors look out for one another and how a simple trip to the store can turn into an hour because of conversations with friends and acquaintances along the way.
“It is like one big extended family!” she said.
That sense of community is something Samol hopes to continue giving back to. She believes being a good neighbor means being willing and ready to help others when needed.
Her philosophy of service was instilled in her from childhood. She watched her parents give to others and was taught the importance of treating people the way she wanted to be treated.
“So many people have been so generous to me throughout my life,” she said. “I feel the need to give back.”
Wife, Mother and Proud Mama
Away from the school nurse’s office and church, Samol’s greatest roles are those of wife and mother.
She and her husband have two young adult children, and she considers motherhood one of the greatest blessings of her life.
“Being a mother is one of the greatest things I’ve ever done!” she said.
Motherhood, she explained, continues to teach her new lessons. One of the hardest has come during the transition from raising children to watching them become independent adults.
“We think those early years are the hardest, but having to let go and watch your babies make their own way — mistakes and all — is one of the hardest parts about being a parent,” she said.
She is grateful for the people surrounding her family who love, support and pray for her children.
“As a mama, you can never have too many people loving, supporting and praying for your babies,” she said.
When she looks at her children today, Samol says she is most proud that they are respectful, God-fearing and productive members of society.
Her own mother, the late Ruby Hembree, remains one of her greatest influences.
“She was a tough woman when she needed to be, but she was also one of the most loving people you would ever meet,” Samol said. “I never had to wonder if I was loved or cared for.”
A Husband Who Is Always There
When life becomes difficult, Samol knows she has someone in her corner.
“My husband! He is my biggest supporter!” she said. She describes him as someone who goes along with her many “crazy schemes” and may grumble occasionally but will always be there when she needs him.
“I never have to doubt that he will be there when I need him,” she said.
That support has been an important part of her journey through family life, faith, community service and a demanding career.
A Legacy of Love
After more than two decades as a school nurse, Samol hopes the people she has served remember one thing above all else: that she cared.
“I pray that my students and their families know that I loved every minute of the time I have spent as a school nurse,” she said. “I feel honored to have taken care of my students and my co-workers over the past 20-plus years.”
If she could choose how her community remembers her, her answer would be simple.
“I would hope I am remembered as someone who loved others,” she said. “I believe the best way to remember someone is to continue to spread the love and compassion they bestowed on you.”
That philosophy also shapes the message she hopes to leave with the next generation.
“Always do your best to treat others with respect, no matter what life situation they are in,” Samol said. “Also, try to always make a positive difference and leave things better than when you started.”
For someone who once dreamed of becoming either a teacher or a nurse, Samol has discovered a way to be both — educating through compassion, nurturing through care and teaching through the example she sets each day.
When asked to describe this season of her life in one word, she doesn’t hesitate.
“Blessed.”
And for Melanie Hembree Samol, that blessing is found in the people she loves, the children she serves, the church she calls home and the community that has been part of her story from the beginning.
