每年，澳门大学堪萨斯分校校友会都会举办颁奖典礼，表彰杰出校友的成就。 The university and the association are honoring Rhiannon Ally (B.A. ’05) with the Class of 2024 Alumna of the Year Award.
As the co-anchor of the national ABC 新闻 program, “World 新闻 Now” and “America This Morning” and a frequent correspondent on "Good Morning America" and “Nightline”, Ally’s questions have taken her far, but her path had not been clear until she came to 威尼斯人娱乐城. 艾丽选修了普利策奖得主鲍勃·昂格尔教授的新闻学课程，这改变了她的人生轨迹。
“I remember him telling us that journalists question everything around them. Even if your own mother tells you something, do some digging and get another source,” said Ally. “That class got me thinking maybe I should be a journalist.”
That’s exactly what she did. Ally’s nearly 20-year career has taken her to Miami, New Orleans, Las Angeles, London and Las Vegas. 她曾采访过麦当娜、丹泽尔·华盛顿、卡罗琳·肯尼迪和格洛丽亚·斯泰纳姆等名人。
Ally是历史的亲历者，记录了波士顿马拉松爆炸案、乌克兰战争、卡特里娜飓风和吉斯兰·麦克斯韦尔（Ghislaine Maxwell）受审等事件。 但当地的故事对艾丽的影响最大。 她回忆起有一次她采访了一对庆祝结婚50周年的夫妇。 两人都是大屠杀幸存者，艾丽仍然与他们的成年子女保持联系。
“When people tell you their story, it becomes a part of you. 社区也是如此。 在我的职业生涯中，我很幸运能成为一些不可思议的社区的一员。 None as special as telling stories in my hometown of Kansas City,” said Ally.
The Raytown native co-anchored the 5 p.m. and Emmy-Award-winning 10 p.m. news for Kansas City’s NBC affiliate KSHB-TV alongside her husband, Mike Marza (B.A. ‘04), whom she met at 威尼斯人娱乐城. 在堪萨斯城，艾丽主持了一些突发新闻报道，包括大火烧毁了几个街区、恶劣天气爆发以及皇家世界职业棒球大赛的游行和集会。
“Most of my family and many of my close friends are still in Kansas City,” said Ally. “People don’t realize how much KC has to offer, but the thing that stands out the most is always the people. The people here are always so supportive and friendly and really have followed me through my entire career.”
While her career as a journalist is impressive, Ally said her proudest professional accomplishment has been publishing her children’s book, “Mommy, Please Don’t Go to Work!”, which was inspired by her experience as a mom, often hearing her three kids utter the phrase.
“Writing a book was a lifelong dream. The day I saw my book published was one of the best days of my career,” said Ally.