The lifelong resident helping shape how people experience Mt. Pleasant

For Cassandra Chippeway, telling stories comes naturally. While Mt. Pleasant is rich in individual passions and stories, Chippeway focuses more broadly on the community as a whole. 

There is much to tell in this broader scope—the story of the collective and iterative community, where each version is better than the last. 

Chippeway is well positioned to notice the evolving charm and allure of Mt. Pleasant and conveys it to community members and outsiders alike. She currently works for Mt. Pleasant Area Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB) as the content and communications coordinator. In this role, Chippeway uses her storytelling talents to encourage visitors to see for themselves all that Mt. Pleasant has to offer. 

Chippeway’s style of storytelling is particularly effective, as she does not speak simply from the perspective of an observer, but rather someone deeply embedded in the community.

“I work on the social media and website content for the CVB, and it’s a lot more than just creating content—it’s a lot of connection,” says Chippeway of the deeper aspect of her profession. “For people to really connect with the content, you have to be able to tell the stories of the people behind the businesses, as well as the residents and the culture. So [the role] encompasses more than I could have imagined, and I love it.” 

The story of Mt. Pleasant that Chippeway is tasked with telling is in constant evolution, and Chippeway has noticed the growth throughout her life.

“I think that since I have lived here, things have changed a lot. It’s been really great to see those changes and movements in Mt. Pleasant. Sometimes change feels like it’s slow moving, but it’s cool to look back and realize how far Mt. Pleasant has come,” says Chippeway. 

As a lifelong resident herself, Chippeway’s excitement to highlight Mt. Pleasant comes naturally.

“I grew up here, I’m raising my kids here, and I want people to see Mt. Pleasant the way I see it,” says Chippeway, speaking on her natural inclination to showcase her hometown. “It makes my job easier, being a lifelong resident. It helps me to connect [to the community] and tell the story of Mt. Pleasant.” 

“I love that there is a profession in sharing everything I love about our community,” she continues. “The goal of connecting and sharing Mt. Pleasant as a place to live, work, and play really speaks to me. It’s so special to be able to do that in my daily life for my job.”

One pathway of connection to a community is simply being from it, as origin and belonging are such important characteristics of self-definition. However, perhaps even more formative, and certainly more tangible, are the experiences and memories gathered from within a community. For Chippeway, past and present experiences have shaped her positive beliefs about the Mt. Pleasant community.

“I married my high school sweetheart, who is a member of the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe. Over the past 15 years, I’ve spent time with our family on the reservation, witnessing generations come together to celebrate traditions and mourn the loss of loved ones,” she shares. “These experiences helped teach me the true meaning of understanding people.” 

Not content to ponder these experiences silently, Chippeway has taken these lessons and experiences to her professional life. 

“There’s something powerful about a community that grieves and celebrates together in the same breath, with an eye toward building a better future for the next generation,” says Chippeway. “That’s a lesson I carry into everything I do, and it’s part of why sharing the Tribe’s living culture [through my job] matters so much to me.”

Chippeway is candid about the impact her experiences have had on her, both professionally and personally. 

“I’ve never been self-made. Everything I’ve accomplished is because someone believed in me, challenged me, or opened a door for me,” she says. 

In a self-perpetuating cycle of admiration, Chippeway credits the community for assisting in her personal growth and accomplishments, while simultaneously helping the community grow via her professional endeavors. 

“If I can spend my career helping tell stories that make people feel seen, and helping visitors fall in love with Mt. Pleasant the way I have, while also helping someone else believe in themselves the way others believed in me, that’s a legacy I’d be proud of.”