There is an innate and unyielding persistence within those individuals who yearn to walk that aisle and reap the self-gratification of earning a degree alien to your family before you, and for many of us, time or maturation wields no constraints in our pursuit of something more. Allyssa Baade, who recently attained her bachelor’s degree in manufacturing engineering, understands this sentiment all too well.
“Making small steps every day added up to one big goal,” said Baade. “And if that’s not what I resonate with my life, you know, I don’t know what.”
Graduating from high school in 2013, Baade initially set her sights on attaining her associate degree at Muskegon Community College with a focus in journalism, but extenuating circumstances would eventually be the proverbial roadblock standing in her way, as she would eventually drop out, opting to join the workforce as a Manufacturing Technician at Shape Corporation.
As time went on, Baade found herself wanting to continue pursuing post-secondary opportunities, wanting to be the first of three children to attain a degree, reenrolling at MCC with a newfound interest that aligned with her experience she attained at Shape, finally earning her associate degree in Manufacturing Engineering Technology while having gained a new position at Howmet Aerospace in 2022 just prior.
This would eventually lead her to transferring to Ferris State University to earn a bachelor’s degree in the latter discipline, but once again, life, for as arbitrary and ruthless as it can be, came to strike yet again. A struggle with a canker sore on her tongue was only the beginning in October of 2024, as Baade would go on to receive a second opinion at the University of Michigan Health in Ann Arbor, where reality hit: an oral cancer diagnosis in stage four; one that, surprisingly, her husband Brandon had predicted before she received her initial diagnosis.
“He kind of predicted that,” said Baade. “Which was really crazy, but it was just because I had all the symptoms. But I was in denial. I was like, there’s no way; I’m only 29. There’s no way I have cancer, right? No, I did.”
Cailey Louise, Baade’s sister, was one amongst many of her closest family members to be shaken the most about the news, prompting a visceral and genuinely confused reaction. 
“So, I knew she was going to Ann Arbor to be tested and all that, but I really didn’t believe it,” said Louise. “It wasn’t even a thought. I honestly brushed it off because I was in disbelief. But the day that I found out, I woke up to a text from her husband, Brandon, that said she has cancer. My initial reaction was literally the worst, because I had just woken up, and [I wasn’t] even conscious, so, I texted him, ‘Is she going to die?’ I look back and I’m like, ‘Why would I say that to him?’ But it was the shock of it all. It really takes you back when somebody who has been your sole inspiration your whole life has such a big shift in their life.”
A grueling, nine-hour surgery would follow soon after, with Baade having to have nearly the entirety of the right side of her tongue being replaced with a graft of her forearm. Over the grafted skin, a tattoo lied; one emblematic of the strength and optimism she had displayed throughout the process. One intended to conceal previous scars of days past taking on new meaning.
“The original tattoo was an interrobang symbol which was the name of the album my husband and I went to see live,” said Baade. “Which was one of the best days ever, so I got it to cover some previous self-harm scars to represent that life is worth living for the good days and the good moments.”
For obvious reasons I need not mention, Baade took six months off from work and school, receiving disability checks that equated to roughly 60 percent of her normal pay she received from Howmet while her husband also took time off from work to take care of her during her recovery. With the financial burden beginning to set in, the family set up a GoFundMe to offset the medical costs that were inevitably on the way, having raised roughly $3,300. For a span of two months, Baade was unable to speak, having contracted pneumonia during that time and needing to be fed through a tube from October of 2024 to June 2025.
Louise, having spent the entire week with Baade when she was hospitalized and the weeks following helping to nurse her back to health at home, was there every step of the way, bearing witness to every conceivable thing one’s family should not have to burden remembering, but if she had to do it again, she would not hesitate in the slightest to help her closest family member.
I was very privileged to be able to spend the entire week in the hospital with her and to just take care of her… I remember you coming out of surgery,” Louise said, speaking to Baade. “I can still see it in my head. I was one of the first people back there, and Brandon was sobbing, and I remember just the first moments of her being out of surgery. Growing up, I didn’t really have anybody, but somebody I’ve always had is my sister, and so seeing her like that was just probably one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do… I would do it all over again, and I would literally do anything for you.”
Fast forward to now, Baade is in remission, recovering slowly, and through the sleepless nights, the laborious surgeries, the scars unable to fade, mentally or physically, she won, having received her degree over this past fall semester from FSU in manufacturing engineering while being able to return to work. Naturally, there were always other careers in mind along the way, but it seems the future for Baade is as bright as it has been in a long time, with a loving and supportive family, a job she enjoys, and a fulfillment she has long hoped to satiate finally coming to fruition.
“It fits my criteria a little bit right with my technical background and my writing background,” said Baade. The most interesting job I considered for a while when going to college the first time was writing for video games. I thought that sounded fun, but I’m not very good at writing like fiction. I’m better writing more realistic stuff. I also considered photography, which was along with journalism. I was in a photography class in high school, but writing has been a big part of my life since I was a kid.”
Baade’s mindset throughout this grueling recovery process sets a precedent for all struggling through similar circumstances.
“I feel like she is the most unstoppable person I know,” Louise concluded. “I feel like, no matter what it is, if she puts her mind to it, she will get it done. I literally don’t know a stronger person in my life.”
With the subsequent stories coming through in recognition of Baade’s accomplishments in recent weeks, she received advice from a close friend who also fought through a cancer diagnosis, which to me, echoes the sentiment I observed throughout my time speaking to Baade and Louise about her journey.
“You all have this undeniable power inside you to get through something so tough. It’s just not until you go through it that you really find out how tough you are.”
A Poem by Alyssa’s Sister
