MUSKEGON, Mich. — A Muskegon woman refused to let stage-four oral cancer stop her from graduating college, earning her engineering degree while undergoing chemotherapy and radiation treatments.
WATCH: Muskegon woman graduates college while battling stage-four oral cancer, becomes first in family
At 29, while enrolled at Ferris State University in the fall of 2024, Allyssa Baade received life-changing news.
"I was very shocked to find out. Scared, obviously," Baade said.
Born and raised in Muskegon, Baade was the first of her siblings to pursue a college degree.
While working at Howmet Aerospace in 2022, Baade received her associate degree in manufacturing engineering technology from Muskegon Community College through a pathway transfer program that ended shortly after she completed her degree.
The program gave her the option to continue pursuing a bachelor's degree in the same field at either Ferris State University or Western Michigan University.
Baade decided to earn her bachelor's degree at Ferris State University.
Following Baade's diagnosis and a nine-hour surgery that replaced almost the entire right side of her tongue with a graft from her arm, Baade began chemotherapy and radiation treatments while continuing school.
"I kind of started to realize what this took for me, the ability to speak correctly. And, you know, the opportunities that come with that ability to speak," Baade said.
Baade required a feeding tube from October 2024 to June 2025 during her recovery. She lost her ability to speak for over two months and caught pneumonia during treatment.
"It was a lot of work. It was a lot of determination. It was very scary, and it was probably one of my biggest challenges I've had," Baade said.
Despite her diagnosis, Baade remained determined to complete her degree.
"I am so glad that I persevered and I'm just really proud of myself," Baade said.
Baade graduated with a bachelor's degree in manufacturing engineering technology in December 2025. She is now in remission and working at Howmet Aerospace.
"I'm just happy to be able to kind of go back to a new normal, maybe not my normal, but, you know, a new one," Baade said.
Baade says her journey involved making small steps toward two big goals: graduating college and beating cancer. By 30, she accomplished both.
"Every day was hard, but if you stick with it every day, and you just keep going and do a little bit more, you know, you can get there," Baade said.
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