While she was still living in Algeria, Melissa Hamida Chelali was an elite student-athlete in basketball. She decided to continue her studies in Paris, where she obtained a Master's in Sports Science and Technology in partnership with the INSEP.
In 1993, as a young bride, she left Algeria for Quebec, where she accumulated experience in all sorts of areas. She eventually becomes the sports manager at the Centre Communautaire Patro le Prévost and taught sports there for several years.
