Our People: Detroit Operator Continuously Challenges Herself

• Detroit refinery Operator Tara Chippewa is inspiring her children, her family and others in the industrial field to pursue their passions and goals, even if it is in a non-traditional role.
• Chippewa discovered she loved working with her hands as a child, which led her participate in the refinery's summer program after high school, attend school for welding, and then begin a career at the refinery where she is now double qualified as a field equipment operator and board operator.
• As she does in her career, Chippewa takes on challenges and explores unexpected paths like working to become top 5 in her designated class in the Highland Games caber toss.

NORTHAMPTON, MA / ACCESSWIRE / March 14, 2023 / Tara Chippewa loves that she is following in the footsteps of other great operators at Marathon Petroleum's Detroit refinery. She's worked hard to prove herself and now she enjoys showing other women that they can accomplish their goals, even if it's doing something unexpected.

From welding to competing in the Highland Games, Chippewa has always enjoyed a variety of non-traditional jobs and hobbies.

"I like setting the example for my kids that it doesn't matter what kind of job it is. If you want it, you can go get it," said Chippewa.

"I want other girls and women to see people like me working in the industrial field and know they can do it, too. It's all about empowering women and resetting what's normal."

The early years

Growing up, Chippewa spent a lot of time with her grandfather, an oil rigger in the 1990s. She had her own little hard hat and would visit rigs with him. Her uncle ran an autobody shop, and her father worked at the Detroit refinery. She grew up farming and fishing. She loved to watch welders work. She discovered that she enjoyed working with her hands and that she was good at it.

"I used to call her a pocket-sized Hercules," said Ray Richardson, Chippewa's father and retired Operator and Training Specialist. "She's always accepted a challenge. If you tell her she can't do something, she'll prove you wrong every time."

Ray Richardson retired from the Detroit refinery in 2020. He loved his career there and wanted to share the career opportunities he had with his children.

"When my dad was working at the refinery, I participated in the Summer Helper program for employees' children who had just graduated high school and were enrolled in college," said Chippewa. "It was 2012, a year the refinery was undergoing a major maintenance event. That's when I realized I wanted to work in the industrial field."