by Stephanie Croston

    Originally from Atkinson, Dr. Trisha Sams has chosen to make Utica her home.
     Sams will be the full-time doctor at the clinic in Utica beginning in July.
     She is not unfamiliar with the area. She received her bachelor's degree in biology from Concordia College (now University) in 1995. While a student at Concordia, Sams worked at Sundermann Homes, which factored into her decision to become a doctor.
     "I thought, 'I could do that,'" she said.
     Originally she had planned to become a physical therapist, but that was not the right fit for her. Then she considered education, "but after observation, I thought, 'No way.'"
     Once she had decided on medicine as a career, she looked into geriatrics as an area of speciality, but when she got into family medicine, she knew that was what she wanted to do.
     "I enjoy seeing everybody, young to old," she said.
     Utica will be her third position, and she said she and her family "are never moving again."
     Her current job in Iowa is similar to the job in Utica, so it's a natural transition, Sams said.
     Her husband, Brian, teaches physics and chemistry, as well as coaching football, basketball and baseball. She said she didn't know what he would do but that they wanted to be involved in the same community.
     Her son, Benjamin, is 16 months old, and the Samses are expecting another child in March.