Her Story
About Maria
Maria Francoeur transitioned into pharmaceutical manufacturing at Lilly in April of this year, where she is preparing for operations at a new facility outside Indianapolis, Indiana, through training at Brazosport College in Texas and three months of job shadowing in Kinsale, Ireland. Her background includes 31 years in chemical manufacturing, primarily as a chemical operator for 27 years with initial QA experience, during which she served as recording secretary for her local United Steelworkers union. She completed high school and has pursued specialized training through Ivy Tech and employer programs. Francoeur attributes her success to her parents, noting her father's work as a farmer and tool and die maker and her mother's transition from stay-at-home parent to full-time worker as key role models. She emphasizes the importance of continuous learning, education in math and science, and values such as communication, trust between employees and management, and employer investment in the workforce. In her role, she appreciates the opportunity to contribute to medicines that improve lives, while navigating challenges like adapting to new technology.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Maria
01What do you attribute your success to?
I think that's my parents. My dad was a farmer and a tool and die maker, and my mom, she was a stay-at-home wife and mother for quite a while, but when she saw that women were needing to start to work, she started with a part-time job, and then she moved to a full-time job to give me that role model that, you know, you gotta do the work.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
Just to learn as much as you can at every opportunity that's given to you. I don't know that I really received a lot of advice, but this was, I don't know, I just, it was a gut thing for me to do this transition. And, everything I have done since I was, headhunted, I've just kind of blindly jumped in and said, let's see where we go from here.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
I would just say take advantage of all the education you can get, because even in a role that I'm in, I have previous experience. But math and science are very important. I stressed that with my daughter, and she ended up getting a degree in biology with a minor in Environmental Sciences, and Education is key.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
For me, a lot of it is the technology. I am on a very steep learning curve with technology, and I'm catching up, but it's taken some time, and I think part of that is my age, you know? ... I think the greatest opportunity is I love the fact that I'm working for a company that makes medicine to help people live better lives. I just love having that kind of purpose that something I'm gonna touch is gonna make somebody's life better.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Well, there has to be communication and trust between employees and management. And investing in your workforce. I, I believe an employer that invests in their workforce is, Very important, because They're the ones that help you make the money.
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