Ashley Iaconetti, her husband Jared Haibon and their dog Lois took the stage of the Herg on Tuesday to discuss her career and Bachelor nation.

“The Bachelor” and “Bachelor in Paradise” star Ashley Iaconetti credits her Newhouse education for knowing how to make a good sound bite. Iaconetti got her master’s degree in broadcast digital journalism in 2013 at the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications. She applied for “The Bachelor” during her unpaid capstone internship in Washington D.C.

Iaconetti said she borrowed her friends’ camera equipment in the summer of 2013 to create an elaborate audition tape. She said she heard from “The Bachelor” casting producers nine months later on April Fools’ day.

“If you’re going in for the right reasons, you’re probably crazy,” Iaconetti said. But she said she met the love of her life on the show — her husband Haibon.

Women in Communications at Syracuse University brought Ashley Iaconetti as a guest speaker on Dec. 3. WIC is a professional organization that aims to bring together and empower young women as they enter the workforce, according to its website.

Iaconetti said that ever since her wedding, she’s wanted to do more meaningful reporting. She said a lot of her early career was spent exclusively talking about “The Bachelor,” but her dream job would be doing features for Nightline. She said she would also create her own Broadway musical.

“The Bachelor” star also gave audience members insight to what goes on during “The Bachelor” shooting. She said that sometimes a producer would suggest something for you to say. If you think it’s funny you can repeat it, but she said this doesn’t always happen. She said “The Bachelor” shows aren’t scripted at all, and there’s no retakes. She said it’s one of the most organic reality shows you can get.

Iaconetti has two different podcasts and video production company and is on a new web series. Hannah Frankel | Contributing Photographer

Chelsea Stern, a sophomore public relations major, said that planning for this event started 11 months ago when she commented on one of Iaconetti’s Instagram photos. Iaconetti talked about her highly esteemed graduate school, and Stern discovered that the graduate school was Newhouse.

After getting in contact with Iaconetti’s agent, Stern said she started this project. She said she chose questions that they thought the audience would like to hear, not just about her TV show experience but also about her academic experience.

“She’s an educated woman who comes from the same school as the Newhouse students that are here today,” Stern said.

WIC president Morgan Trau said that the organization formed as a way to empower women who are joining journalism, a male-dominated industry.

Iaconetti has two different podcasts, owns her own video production company and is on a new web series. Trau said WIC wanted to focus on how Newhouse helped Iaconetti’s in her career.

Iaconetti compared the friendships that she made on “The Bachelor” to the friendships that she made in the graduate program at SU. While she spent many weekends at home during her time as an undergraduate student, she said that her graduate program attracted a lot of like-minded people.

“I know a lot of our generation love ‘The Bachelor,’” Trau said. “And so, why wouldn’t we bring somebody who graduated from here who loves Syracuse, who also embodies our values of empowering other women?”

Published on December 3, 2019 at 11:15 pm

Contact Allison: alweis@syr.edu