Jose Palomeque didn’t have a normal journey compared to many Penn State alumni.

Born in Ecuador, Palomeque moved to the United States at 8 with his mother and stepfather, who was born in Pennsylvania. Having little knowledge of English, he did everything he could to fit in by learning to speak the language to make new friends at his new home. However, one thing stuck with him from Ecuador: soccer.

Palomeque wanted to keep up with the sport, and playing it allowed him to get adjusted to his new life. It allowed him to build new friendships while he was growing up, and after playing soccer at Upper Dublin High School, he said that he set the goal to eventually play Division I soccer in college. His love for sports, especially soccer, set the foundation for him to work at NBC Universal and eventually become an account executive in its Philadelphia stations. 

Palomeque got into Penn State to study business administration, but with the thought of saving money, he decided to begin his college career at Penn State Abington. He was there for two and a half years, and in the spring of 2020, he walked on to the soccer team at University Park. Due to his goal of playing Division I soccer, he took part in Penn State’s soccer tryouts. He had to compete against 33 people, and in the end, made the team as a walk-on.

Palomeque took part with its spring team, but the COVID-19 pandemic hit, and their season had to shut down. However, this didn’t stop him from staying involved. He made sure to keep up with the workouts and did everything the team needed him to do during this difficult time to stay fit to be ready when the time would come. When Palomeque was on campus, he wanted to be involved with THON, and in 2021, he became the men’s soccer representative.

“My favorite part about it was watching everyone come together with a common goal. Having our men’s soccer video up on the virtual screen and getting those messages of people who saw us was the icing on the cake,” Palomeque said. “It felt great being a part of something that was truly benefitting the world, and most importantly, children and our next generation.”

In May 2021, Palomeque graduated but decided to get his master’s degree in business administration at Penn State Harrisburg. He spent a year and a half there, where he did one year in person and the remaining time online. After he got his degree, he started to look for a job, and the opportunity came for him in a way he didn’t expect.

In Palomeque’s mind, media sales were not something he looked for during his job search. However, this all changed when he went to one of his sister’s volleyball practices, and one of the directors who organized the camp came to talk to him. During this chat, the director took notice of everything Palomeque did at Penn State. For that reason, he offered Palomeque the opportunity to connect him with anyone in his LinkedIn network. He went through the director’s LinkedIn, and there was one company that caught his attention: NBC.

“I found somebody that worked in NBC and was in charge of the Olympics, [which] opened up my eyesight. Those are big events that I would love to see how I can get involved with,” Palomeque said. “Then even just watching the 76ers, Eagles, Flyers, and Phillies on NBC Sports Philadelphia, it was like I connected with the brand quite a bit, which allowed me to immerse myself into it.”

In August 2022, Palomeque joined NBC in its Philadelphia station as a sales associate. In this role, he had to partner with agencies and brands to provide custom client-specific advertising and branding solutions. He also had to help NBC’s partners drive key performance indicators that co-align with their brand strategy.

Palomeque put a lot of hard work into his position, and his experiences at Penn State helped him get accustomed to the role. Then, in October 2023, he got the opportunity to become an account executive.

“The education itself was so interactive that I felt like I was already a marketer when I came out of [Penn State]. I felt I had already done projects that were hands-on and very similar to the real world to the point where I felt prepared,” Palomeque said. “Having a Penn State background just builds confidence. It opened up the doors for me to be able to walk into NBC and apply.”

Palomeque has a lot of priorities as an account executive. In this role, he has to do most of the responsibilities that he did as a sales associate. He said that his day-to-day changes often, with some weekly responsibilities remaining the same. For that reason, he often must be quick on his feet and has to foresee upcoming trends.

This includes maintaining healthy campaigns for clients and thinking of new ideas for these campaigns for Philadelphia sports teams like the 76ers, Phillies, Flyers, and the Eagles. Additionally, in 2026, he said that he will work with partners to organize NBC’s Winter Olympics, World Cup, and Super Bowl involvement, which are some of the world’s largest sporting events.

Palomeque said that his goals align with the goals of his partners, which is to make sure that both take care of each other. He values that because he says that the goals and morals of NBC Universal are in the same line as their partners.

As for his leadership, Palomeque says that inclusivity is one of the biggest principles that guides his approach to team building and decision-making. Due to growing up in a third-world country, he makes sure that he appreciates all the differences from all diversities and ethnicities.

“From a leadership position, your goal is to see the best in everyone, and I feel like I’ve been able to do that,” Palomeque said. “My goal is to show up every day, learn something new, and expand upon my knowledge. Just being able to be a tool for my team, I feel that’s how you become a leader because you are needed in a way.”

Not only does Palomeque have the role of account executive, but he’s also the co-leader of the Young Professional Network in the Philadelphia region. In this role, he gets to help plan events like a Summer Olympics event to enhance and embody company culture at NBC Philadelphia. The goal for him is that as many people as possible from the company participate in these events, to bring everyone together to build a bond. He says that he’s a big fan of culture.

Whenever he sees a commercial from one of his partners on television during a major sporting event like the Eagles or Phillies, he always feels very proud about making that happen. One of Palomeque’s biggest achievements came when he was working with a dermatology company and putting together a sponsorship for them ahead of the Phillies’ season. What made this so special for him was the fact that the company trusted him to take care of this.

“Building that trust was my favorite accomplishment because it took a lot of months of me caring for their account, making sure all their commercials are running,” Palomeque said. “For me, it’s building those relationships.”

Palomeque said that the NBC station in Philadelphia is unique because it is in the city, so it brings the excitement of Philadelphia’s sports teams to the city of Philadelphia which is a huge sports town. As well as putting out good content for the public, he says NBC does a great job in surrounding itself with all the events that are occurring in the city, like the Eagles’ Super Bowl parade.

While the job brings a lot of great opportunities, Palomeque admitted that NBC’s competitors, political advertising, and the transition from traditional to digital media are his biggest challenges in media sales. Despite these challenges, he said that he tries his best to overcome them by making those challenges into something beneficial.

For example, due to the 2024 election, there were record-setting numbers of political advertising in Philadelphia. While it did bring some issues for Palomeque’s partners, he mentioned that this challenge allowed him to build closer relationships with his partners.

As Palomeque looked back on his journey from Penn State to NBC Universal, he gave useful advice to people who are looking to work in the sports industry shortly.

“Be as open as possible with everybody and anybody in terms of building relationships. Just being able to see somebody out in public and getting that warm feeling where it’s like, ‘Oh, I know that person.’ So, being able to create that with as many people as possible will create opportunities for you, especially in the sports world,” Palomeque said. “It’s more about how you can create options for yourself by being genuine, open, and carrying yourself in the right way to everyone, which takes effort.”