A New Jersey native, Ali moved to Los Angeles in 2022 to pursue a dual degree in political science and journalism from Loyola Marymount University. During her undergraduate experience, she began applying her coursework to her professional career at the Los Angeles Loyolan, a student-run digital media publication dedicated to keeping the LMU community informed. She worked as a reporter for Project E2024, a section dedicated to student coverage of the presidential election.
Following this role, she spent a semester abroad in Florence, Italy, where she learned to write about current events with an international perspective and strengthened her understanding of global politics.
When she returned to LMU, she began working as an intern at The Lion, another student-run digital media publication. As a reporter for the Opinion section, she covered everything from politics to pop culture – from Trump’s executive orders to SNL 50.
In the summer of 2025, she worked at The Late Show with Stephen Colbert as a production intern. She gained hands-on professional experience annotating interviews for segment research, locking down sets for field production, escorting high profile talent guests, and distributing scripts.
In her final year at LMU, she served as Editor-in-Chief of The Lion. She worked closely with the political section as an assigning editor, led class meetings, and collaborated with section editors to unify the vision for the paper.
Graduating in May 2026, Ali is pursuing career opportunities in entertainment, journalism, and television production, where her interests in politics and popular culture intersect.