From captaining the women’s soccer team to founding a nonprofit, Bailey Ulbricht ’15 has met the challenges of the world with everything she has got.
As a student, she was a three-year head delegate of the College’s Model UN team, and she traveled to Turkey to help with the refugee crisis spawned by the Syrian civil war. These travels during college had a profound impact on her, and she returned with a deep understanding of the challenges faced by individuals affected by conflict and displacement. While most students may have gotten caught back up in the pressure of Carleton, Ulbricht started tutoring Syrians in English and eventually founded Paper Airplanes, a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing educational resources and support to individuals impacted by crises.
Over the past decade, Paper Airplanes has facilitated language and skill training for 4,098 students through one-on-one connections with 5,110 tutors. Each semester, when Paper Airplanes opens English student applications for just 24 hours, they receive roughly 3,000 responses, showing the high demand for these services. The impact is undeniable; through their experiences, many students have gained the means to support their families or pursue further education, directly influencing their lives and communities.
Ulbricht graduated from Stanford Law School and went on to found the Stanford Law School Humanitarian Program, which provides research-based solutions to humanitarian aid programs. Ulbricht has been a transformative force in refugee education, making impactful civic contributions with a commitment to quality and a passion for social change that exemplifies the Carleton spirit.