Four Schools Four Semesters One Home: Ben Palillo's Senior Column

September 2020, I stepped foot on Long Island University’s Campus as a student.

January 2021, I entered a Zoom room as a student at Binghamton University.

September 2021, I strolled into the bookstore at Nassau Community College to gather my textbooks for the upcoming semester.

January 2022, I was a Nittany Lion.

My college journey is different from the most traditional one. Honestly, it never was going to be between dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic and the uncertainty of not knowing what I truly wanted to do in life.

That was until while listening to WFAN and trying to fall asleep like I had done for the previous decade, I had an epiphany: sports talk radio is what I wanted to do for the rest of my life.

After researching schools, I committed to Penn State and nearly made it five schools in five semesters. My first semester at PSU was honestly one of the lowest points of my entire life.

As a transfer student during a pandemic, I had no orientation. I lived in Nittany Apartments, an on-campus housing option that puts you in a townhouse apartment but reduces your ability to meet people as a new student.

Making friends was incredibly difficult, and other than my roommate, who would go home every weekend, I was alone and isolated.

After four months at a freezing State College, I was ready to head home and never return until my parents talked me out of it. Their key point: perhaps you just need to get more involved in that radio station you joined.

I joined CommRadio in January 2022 because I received a mass email from the college advertising the station. Completing the new member training and attending a single sports meeting was as involved as I got.

I viewed CommRadio as just more school work but overlooked the fact that it was an opportunity to gain what I was truly looking for: a purpose.

Still, when I moved into Holmes Hall in August 2023, I believed I’d be moving out come December and never stepping on campus again. Then, I attended that first sports meeting of the semester and, after some hesitation, raised my hand for a collaborative fantasy football article.

I sat in the West dining commons for about four hours writing that piece, trying to learn AP Style and ensure it was perfect. Reading back on it, was it perfect? No, but it may be the most important thing I have written in my entire life.

I returned to the sports meeting the following week and signed up for more and more, even adopting an article as my own: Around the Premier League—a piece I wrote about 30 renditions of in a row during my time in the station.

Writing articles led me to sign up for podcasts, and then, after completing my State High call while dealing with food poisoning (thank you, West Dining Hall’s mozzarella sticks), I completed my first broadcast calling a Penn State softball game alongside a mentor and friend, Mike Bolger.

Then, my biggest believer, supporter and now one of my best friends, Adam Sheetz, gave me a chance to work a game on Big Ten Plus calling softball alongside another close friend and future co-worker, Jake Irwin.

(Photo by Ryan Eslinger, Features Jake Irwin on the left and Ben Palillo on the right broadcasting Penn State versus Maryland Women's Basketball in College Park.)

Sheetz giving me that chance gave me the confidence to continue broadcasting, and within a year, I had broadcast nearly every sport you can on this campus. Were the broadcasts perfect? No, but did I make sure I had a good time? You better believe it.

CommRadio also helped secure my first internship. General manager Dylan Price connected me with a former boss at Empire Sports Media named Alex Wilson, who allowed me to intern with the company as a Mets and Rangers writer for the summer of 2023.

At the conclusion of the summer, I got hired as a contributing writer and have spent the last eight months continuing to cover my favorite baseball team, the New York Mets, daily while getting paid. None of this would have been possible without the assistance of Dylan and CommRadio.

This past August, Sheetz then believed in me once more and essentially changed my career path after bestowing me the honor of being CommRadio’s first non-big three sports insider as the Penn State Men’s Soccer insider alongside fellow Arsenal supporter and friend Matt Cabram.

I absolutely fell in love with covering soccer. From broadcasting the games on our airwaves and Big Ten Plus alongside Juan Sebastián Méndez and Mac Young to writing about every game, award and storyline, it was one of the greatest experiences of my life.

(Photo via Ben Palillo, from left to right Ben Palillo, Matt Cabram, Mac Young, Juan Sebastián Méndez following Penn State defeating Ohio State in the Big Ten Tournament at Jeffrey Field.)

I broke my first sports story covering soccer, announcing the signing of former Penn State captain Peter Mangione after he informed me via Instagram that he had signed with FC Cincinnati II. I called an NCAA Tournament game on ESPN+ all because I got to cover soccer.

Covering Penn State soccer gave me so many opportunities, which I am so blessed to have received. It also helped me blossom friendships I hope to keep for the rest of my life.

I am now beginning a job search to cover soccer rather than being a sports talk radio host, all because of CommRadio.

Now, as I prepare to venture into the real world, I realize that what I desired during my entire collegiate journey was a home, and CommRadio provided me with just that.

For that, I will forever be grateful for my time at CommRadio. This is not a goodbye but just a see you later to one of the greatest chapters in my life.

Sincerely,

Ben Palillo

Ben Palillo is about to graduate with a degree in broadcast journalism. To contact him, please email bgp5079@psu.edu.