30 Under 30: Samantha Morris, 26

September 23, 2022

Medical Student, The University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine

LA ’18 

She/Her 

Hearing patients’ stories and sharing in their medical journeys are the features of becoming a physician that most excite Samantha Morris. A medical student at the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine, Morris is excited to have reached her clinical years and begun meeting with new patients each day. 

“In becoming a physician, I'll have the privilege of playing a unique role in helping my patients continue to craft the narrative of their lives exactly how they'd like to,” discussed Morris. “I hope to partner with my patients, listening to their healthcare goals, providing medical advice, and collaborating on the best way to achieve the picture of health they envision. I'm particularly passionate about LGBTQ+ healthcare and playing my part in ensuring that the queer community can both dictate their own healthcare needs and have those needs met by queer providers.” 

For Morris, to be a physician is to be a lifelong learner dedicated to ensuring patients’ divergent needs are met. 

“Two patients with the same diagnosis will have completely unique experiences,” explained Morris. “I view it as my role to support the individual complexity of all my patients and learn from their stories so I may serve as a trustworthy resource for the medical concerns of my community.” 
 
It was Morris’ experience as a Newcomb Scholar that taught her the importance of both collaboration and individuality. 

“I loved being able to learn alongside women dedicated to the pursuit of their unique passions,” reflected Morris. “Hearing their perspectives broadened my own, and I learned how to effectively communicate in order to achieve a common goal, a skill that has undoubtedly shaped my outlook on the highly collaborative field of medicine. Amidst our collaboration, we remained passionate about our individual pursuits. Newcomb Scholars helped me recognize that my perspective on medicine as a poetry-entrenched Latin major was not only valid but valued.” 

Morris’s eyes are set on her goal of becoming a primary care physician, and she looks forward to the day she can begin providing comprehensive healthcare to those who need it most. 

“I look forward to the relationships I will have built with my patients and the new patients I'll meet each day. I see myself making time not only for work but for my family and my community, being present for all those who have supported me along this demanding path. I feel quite happy in the knowledge that while I'll have accomplished so much, there will be so much personal and professional growth ahead of me.”  

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