Behind the Business: Second Chance for Pursuit Aerospace’s Judy Sirrine

After being incarcerated for four years, Judy Sirrine said Pursuit Aerospace, formerly Whitcraft Group, gave her a firm foundation for her future. 

Now a shipping clerk, she feels joy and a sense of accomplishment within the walls of the Eastford manufacturer.

“I’ve been afforded an opportunity to start my life over after imprisonment.”

Sirrine enrolled in the work-release program at Whitcraft during her time at York Correctional Institute. 

Every day for six months, Sirrine and a small group of women were transported from York to Whitcraft, where employees taught them the ins and outs of their prospective jobs.

“They have been phenomenal,” Sirrine said. “Welcoming, kind, helpful. I have a couple of people who have really had my back here.”

Since being released, the company hired her full time.

“We don’t have to be what everybody thinks we are,” she said. “Because one day changed the trajectory of our lives, that does not mean that that is who we are for the rest of our lives.”

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