Iona University’s Ava Palladino ’25 Pursues her Passion for Media at Fox News
Ava Palladino ’25
New Rochelle, N.Y. — Ava Palladino ’25 is making her mark in the fast-paced media landscape at Fox News. Over the course of three consecutive semesters, she honed her skills as a multimedia intern at one of the nation’s leading media companies.
“This internship gave me the chance to immerse myself in a field I am passionate about and jump out of my comfort zone,” said the Eastchester, N.Y., native. In fact, her dedication and work ethic recently earned her the “Spotlight Intern” recognition at Fox.
At Fox, Palladino didn't just study the field—she lived it.
“I was in the field, covering breaking and national stories,” she shares, highlighting experiences that spanned from covering the 2024 campaign trail to reporting on the United Nations General Assembly. “My Iona education translated into real-world scenarios.”
Now, she is gearing up for an exciting spring internship at "The Five" with Fox News Media.
Palladino, who transferred to Iona from Arizona State University in her sophomore year, is also thankful for Iona’s proximity to New York City. She said it has been instrumental for networking and advancing her internship and career opportunities, saying “students can find a place for themselves in NYC – the center of culture, commerce, and finance.”
Beyond the classroom, Palladino thrived in collaboration with multimedia reporters nationwide, “researching breaking news and enterprise stories” while “making calls to find sources and confirm facts for live TV shots.”
Palladino found a strong support system within Iona’s Media & Strategic Communications Department.
“I have been very lucky to get to know all the outstanding and helpful professors in the Media & Strategic Communications Department,” said Palladino.
She credits Dr. Jeanne Zaino and Dr. Robert Petrausch for “genuinely caring about me and my future, giving me great career advice, and always reminding me that I am capable of achieving my dreams.”
ABOUT IONA
Founded in 1940, Iona University is a master's-granting private, Catholic, coeducational institution of learning in the tradition of the Edmund Rice Christian Brothers. Iona's 45-acre New Rochelle campus and 28-acre Bronxville campus are just 20 miles north of Midtown Manhattan. With a total enrollment of nearly 4,000 students and an alumni base of more than 50,000 around the world, Iona is a diverse community of learners and scholars dedicated to academic excellence and the values of justice, peace and service. Iona is highly accredited, offering undergraduate degrees in liberal arts, science and business administration, as well as Master of Arts, Master of Science and Master of Business Administration degrees and numerous advanced certificate programs. Iona students enjoy small class sizes, engaged professors and a wide array of academic programs across the School of Arts & Science; LaPenta School of Business; NewYork-Presbyterian Iona School of Health Sciences; and Hynes Institute for Entrepreneurship & Innovation. Iona also continues to be recognized in prestigious national rankings. Most recently for 2025, Iona has been named one of the nation’s best colleges by The Princeton Review, The Wall Street Journal, Forbes and others. Additionally, U.S. News & World Report recognized Iona as one of top for social mobility in the country, while Georgetown University's Center on Education and the Workforce (CEW) ranked an Iona degree in the top 5 percent nationally for long-term return on investment. Iona’s LaPenta School of Business, meanwhile, is also accredited by AACSB International, a recognition awarded to just 6 percent of business schools worldwide. In addition, The Princeton Review recognized Iona’s on-campus MBA program as a “Best Business School for 2024.” Iona also offers a fully online MBA program for even greater flexibility. In July 2021, Iona announced the establishment of the NewYork-Presbyterian Iona School of Health Sciences, which is now principally located on Iona’s Bronxville campus in collaboration with one of the nation’s top hospitals. Connecting to its Irish heritage, Iona also opened a new campus in County Mayo, Ireland, located on the historic 400-acre Westport House Estate. A school on the rise, Iona officially changed its status from College to University on July 1, 2022, reflecting the growth of its academic programs and the prestige of an Iona education.