The person behind the byline

Laili grew up in Orange County, California, and moved across the country to New York for one reason: to be a journalist.

She transferred to Manhattan University in 2024 and immediately joined The Quadrangle, the university's student newspaper. Pitching, reporting and editing became the rhythm of her weeks, and in roughly one year and eight months she moved from contributor and staff writer to Features Editor, then Editor-in-Chief — leading a newsroom of student journalists while carrying a full course load.

She graduated Summa Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Arts in Communication, a concentration in Journalism and a minor in Psychology, with approximately a 3.90 cumulative GPA. In 2026 she received Manhattan University's Achievement in Journalism Award.

Her work has since expanded beyond campus reporting into professional digital media and editorial publishing, with bylines across lifestyle, entertainment, culture, beauty and relationships — and reporting from events, pop-ups and interviews with people her readers already care about.

The psychology minor shows up in the work: she is most interested in why people do what they do, and in the human angle that turns a trend piece into a story worth finishing.