{"id":725,"date":"2018-03-14T09:07:53","date_gmt":"2018-03-14T16:07:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.plm.automation.siemens.com\/t5\/Solid-Edge-Blog\/Customer-Spotlight-Cherrie-Bommarito-of-Hussmann\/ba-p\/475472"},"modified":"2026-03-26T07:27:38","modified_gmt":"2026-03-26T11:27:38","slug":"customer-spotlight-cherrie-bommarito-of-hussmann","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/solidedge\/customer-spotlight-cherrie-bommarito-of-hussmann\/","title":{"rendered":"Customer Spotlight: Cherrie Bommarito of Hussmann"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"CherrieHussman<\/span>March is Women\u2019s History Month<\/A> here in the US, a time that is dedicated to recognizing and celebrating the many great contributions that women have made to society throughout history\u2014and continue to make today. Historically speaking, the accomplishments of women have often gone unrecognized, especially in the areas of science and math. And while we have made great strides in terms of gender equality, there is still much to do.<\/P><\/p>\n

The number of women employed in STEM careers is a perfect example of this. We are starting to see more women enter traditionally male dominated roles, yet despite comprising 48% of the working population, women still only make up about 24% of the STEM workforce. We talked to CAD systems specialist Cherrie Bommarito about this topic and more, including her experience as an engineer, and today we are featuring her on the blog in honor of Women\u2019s History Month as a great example of a woman who followed her passion for engineering.<\/P><\/p>\n

Her role today<\/H2>
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Cherrie has used Solid Edge for more than 20 years in her role as the CAD systems specialist for Hussmann<\/A>, a manufacturer of commercial refrigeration units for the supermarket industry. Hussmann holds a majority of the market at 40%, and chances are if you\u2019ve been inside a grocery store, you have seen one of their meat, dairy, specialty, or frozen food cases. They are also responsible for the systems that run the display cases, such as the large rack systems that pump refrigerant to cool them. The work involves a lot of sheet metal design<\/A>, and the folks at Hussmann including Cherrie worked closely with Siemens to develop the initial sheet metal package that is in Solid Edge. \u201cYou can\u2019t beat the sheet metal functionality,\u201d she said of Solid Edge.<\/P><\/p>\n

As the CAD systems specialist, she is not only responsible for identifying the functionality that will benefit the company, but also she helps users to be more consistent in how they use Solid Edge<\/A>. Consistency is important when it comes to design, not just from the perspective of efficiency, but also in terms of creating good designs that others can work with or recreate if necessary. This aspect of her role is what Cherrie mentioned she enjoys most.<\/P><\/p>\n

\u201cI like to help people. We have some very talented people, and some of the things that they can do are just amazing,\u201d she said. \u201cHelping them create even more amazing products in a more efficient way or in a new way\u2014that is what I find most rewarding.\u201d<\/P>
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\"CherrieHussman.jpg\"<\/span><\/P>
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Cherrie makes herself available to users in a myriad of ways in order to support them as they develop their design skills further. In addition to hosting a quarterly Solid Edge users group, she sends a monthly newsletter along with other bulletins that include best practices and helpful tips on how to use the software. It\u2019s critical for engineers, especially those who are just starting out in their careers, to be proactive when it comes to learning about the software they use.<\/P><\/p>\n

\u201cYou don\u2019t know what you don\u2019t know. It\u2019s easy to get so busy with trying to get something done that new commands and functionality, which could be very helpful, just pass you by,\u201d Cherrie said.<\/P><\/p>\n

Advice for engineers<\/H2>
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Her advice for engineers who are just starting out is very much in that same vein. If you want to succeed in your career, retain your passion for learning. Learn more about the tools you use, seek out information on new techniques and skills.<\/P><\/p>\n

\u201cPeople tend to think that once they\u2019re done with school, they\u2019re done. They don\u2019t need to ever go to a formal learning session ever again, and that\u2019s just not true,\u201d Cherrie explained. \u201cDon\u2019t ever lose your desire to learn. Nurture that. Because that\u2019s what will keep you interested, it will keep you motivated, and it will help you improve throughout your life.\u201d<\/P><\/p>\n

Passion, not just for learning, but for your career as well is so crucial to becoming the best you can be in your field. \u201cAny job that doesn\u2019t have passion is just that, it\u2019s a job,\u201d Cherrie said. \u201cIt\u2019s easier to learn if you\u2019re passionate about it: You have an interest; things come naturally, and for those things that are a little more difficult, you have that drive to want to improve upon those and master them.\u201d <\/P><\/p>\n

Her story: passion fueled by her education and family<\/H2>
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Cherrie herself demonstrates this through her story. She began her career as a designer before moving up the ranks to engineer and finally CAD systems specialist, but her passion for engineering began long before that.<\/P><\/p>\n

\"FaciaFront.jpg\"<\/span>\"FaciarRear.6.jpg\"<\/span>\u201cI\u2019ve always loved to find out the way things work and build things and do basically the \u2018boy\u2019 stuff, which is what it was when I was growing up,\u201d Cherrie said. She was often one of the only girls in shop class or drawing class in middle school, and was one of a handful of women in her engineering program in college. \u201cI was never discouraged from playing with Lego and building things, so I ran with it. I seem to gravitate toward the more mechanical type of industries than the traditional career path that ladies normally take. It\u2019s just come naturally to me. Probably some of that is related to me not being discourage in my upbringing.\u201d<\/P><\/p>\n

The support and encouragement she received came not just from her parents at home, but also in her education. \u201cMy love for drawing started in middle school. My first formal, school drawing class was when I was 13, and I just fell in love with it. Every time it was offered throughout my high school career, I took the class and was exposed to mechanical drawings, electrical drawings, architectural drawings, all the way through high school.\u201d Cherrie said. \u201cThat alone had me at an advanced level when I went to the technical college. I was in a room full of 25 individuals drafting on the board, and I would always get complete the assignment first. They would always ask \u2018How\u2019d you get that done so fast?\u2019 and to me, it came naturally because it was offered in my high school.\u201d<\/P><\/p>\n

Cherrie\u2019s early education from K-12 taught her many skills applicable to the technical field long before she knew that was the industry she wanted to go into. \u201cIt definitely nurtured my passion, because that was one thing I could do and I could do it well,\u201d Cherrie said of her drawing class. \u201cIt encouraged me not only in school, but at home as well. My stepfather was in construction, and if he needed a drawing for a room addition he was going to build, he would say \u2018Here, I need this,\u2019 and throw me the napkin with the drawing on it, and I would draw it for him. It\u2019s just something I was lucky enough to realize early enough in life that that\u2019s what I wanted to do.\u201d

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\"Section1.JPG\"Section of an assembly to evaluate a hinge design, image courtesy of Cherrie\/Hussmann<\/span><\/span>It was the work she did with her father that inspired her to receive a technical degree in architectural design.  \u201cThis was before the public schools had CAD systems. It was all board and pen drawings or pencil, whichever you were doing, and I was trying to get a full time job drafting right out of high school. No one wanted to hire anybody who had no CAD experience,\u201d Cherrie explained. \u201cThe technical college, Ranken Technical, was offering a 2 year degree in architectural design and structural engineering. I thought, \u2018Well I know construction and I know drafting. I can do this.\u2019\u201d She enrolled to learn CAD drawing, and at the end of two years had received her associate\u2019s degree. By that time, she realized she didn\u2019t want to do architecture. <\/P><\/p>\n

After graduating, she got a job in a machine shop and that is where it clicked for her. \u201cI loved the drawing of the machine parts,\u201d she said. She created an entire library of parts for the company she was working for at the time, and then the company downsized, which is when Cherrie found a place at Hussmann. She has been using Solid Edge for drawings and sheet metal parts ever since. She also went back to school during her career with Hussmann to receive her bachelor\u2019s degree in industrial technology from Southeast Missouri State.<\/P><\/p>\n

On diversity and women in the workforce<\/H2>
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Throughout her time as an engineer, Cherrie has definitely noticed some trends, especially when it comes to diversity. She has noticed more women entering the field of engineering, and there are more female engineers at Hussmann than when she had first started. \u201cThe girls are still in the minority, but it\u2019s not only the diversity between men and women that has improved,\u201d Cherrie said. \u201cWe have people who are from Australia, China, Japan, Brazil\u2026 the culture is becoming more inclusive whereas before it may have been a little more exclusive, meaning that all of those groups of people were not included in these roles.\u201d<\/P>
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\"CherrieHussmann.jpg\"<\/span><\/P>
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In terms of advice for any aspiring young female engineers, Cherrie says that if it is your passion, follow it no matter what anyone says. Also, never underestimate the power of networking. It\u2019s so critical, especially as a woman, to build a support network and find people at work who can guide you and even just lend a sympathetic ear when you\u2019re struggling.<\/P><\/p>\n

\u201cFind your friends at work,\u201d Cherrie said. \u201cIf you\u2019re struggling with an issue, just having a conversation in the hallway or going to lunch with your coworkers, you\u2019ll find that maybe they dealt with something similar. You can learn how they handled it, and it\u2019s a good way to 1. Release some of the tension that comes with the job but also 2. Understand that you\u2019re not there alone. People have been through this same thing before, this is how they dealt with it.”<\/P><\/p>\n

Cherrie also points out that women in the workforce have a tendency to stay inside their comfort zones. \u201cSometimes it seems like women in the workforce try to stay to themselves and not really go outside of their roles or reach out to someone in a different department,\u201d she said. \u201cI feel that that doesn\u2019t happen enough. You have to nurture your support network, and it\u2019s even more important in a traditionally male dominated environment.\u201d<\/P><\/p>\n

You can tell Cherrie\u2019s advice is based on her own experiences and the way she has lived her life. She followed her passion, stayed true to herself, has stayed a lifelong student and has even built an extended support network throughout her career. Today, she guides Hussmann engineering teams which include up to 100 engineers at located at multiple global sites, and is a wonderful example of what you can accomplish when you stay committed.<\/P><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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