Joshua Pile

Bound for the East coast, but born on the West coast, I am a middle child who often found myself outside the box. Proudly touting my unique perspectives, from a young age I had a very entrepreneurial mind, always embarking on some sort of hustle. These hustles ranged from running lemonade stands and washing cars to offering various online services for hire. I was known for finding trouble—but wherever trouble was, so were problems to solve, and I was eager to solve them. Occasionally, I may have added to them.

 Growing up in a family of six, if I wanted something—and I usually did—I often had to get it myself. Being raised in that environment only led to a tenacity and hunger to continue thinking outside the box, something that led me to starting at Excel, an outside-the-box college. 

Five years prior to coming to Excel I had picked up my parent’s Canon T5, a consumer grade DSLR camera from a prior age. Picking up that camera formed a consistent target to channel my creative outlet. I found myself sucked into the world of digital media, which only got bolstered as I started getting noticed by professionals around me, online communities, and my own mother—who to this day enthusiastically shares my art on Facebook. The encouragement, criticism, demand, and love surrounding what I was creating only fed the hunger within to continue refining my work. 

Fast forward half a decade into that pursuit, and I had launched a successful live-streaming endeavor that pulled my focus beyond the photo world and into the broader scope of digital media. I experienced firsthand that I could create value, connection and business through the use of that exceptional digital media. 

Reflecting on my time at Excel College, I have gained invaluable experiences and a great deal of knowledge that lends to the foundation that my future family, business, and overall ministry pursuit will be built off of. Curriculum including some of the world’s most profound writings, accompanied with Socratic discussions around them, has led me to understand the why behind my world view. This environment often challenged those beliefs resulting in either a reformation, or reinforcement of mind. 

After graduating from Excel, I hope to influence future generations through digital media, and lead an exemplary personal life that others may witness. To follow Christ into a digital space, and aid in reincorporating His Kingdom in our culture once again.

Through digital media, I aim to build bridges between culture and faith. Cultivating Heaven on Earth.

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EDUCATION

Excel College, Black Mountain, NC

BA in Religious Studies, Integrated Economy, & Critical Thinking

Emphasis: Digital Media

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CERTIFICATIONS

REMOTE PILOT (UAG-s)  — Federal Aviation Administration: Indefinitely Active

• Operate Remote Controlled Aircraft Under 50lb for commercial use.
• Fly drones in otherwise controlled airspace with authorization through LAANC.

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WORK EXPERIENCE & APPRENTICESHIPS

PHOTOGRAPHER & VIDEOGRAPHER -Excel College: Volunteer 2022 - October 2024 | Full-Time Paid: November 2024 - March 2025

• Tailored content to brand guides and effectively communicate a visual narrative and emotion. 
• Produced headshots, class photos, on-site relief and assessment content, interviews, drone content, event photography & more. 
• Created a wide variety of digital content with the purpose of aiding in hurricane relief fundraising for a variety of businesses and nonprofits including, Excel College, Adventures Relief, Crisis Relief & Recovery, Penn State, and local businesses.

OWNER & MEDIA PRODUCER - JP Exposure: Self-Employed January 2023 - Present

• Produce photographic and video based content for local businesses websites and social platforms with the purpose of bringing exposure to their missions.
• Gaining proficiency with a wide range of production equipment to effectively articulate stories through visual media.
• Work closely with business owners to clearly and communicate their dreams and visions to the right audience through the use of digital media.
• Clients include: ABC News/Sinclair, Alpha Tech, Avidity Arms, Excel College, Crisis Relief & Recovery, Adventures Relief, Penn State, Moments Cafe, Recess Coffee, Peri Social House, Anne’s Custom Catering, Private Weddings, AirBnb Owners, and many more.

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INDEPENDENT STUDIES 

FAA Part 107 - UAG-s — Udemy Course | July - September 2024

• Read sectional charts, understand different classes of airspace, and interpret METARs/TAFs for safe drone operations.
• Courses cover Part 107 rules, crew roles, drone limitations, emergency procedures, and how to prepare for real-world commercial flights.

Photography Lighting — Udemy Course | January - February 2024

• Understanding methods of artificially lighting subjects to portray different feelings and emotions.
• Knowledge on use of flash photography, strobes, portrait lighting & more. 

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Excel College

Bachelor Degree in Religious Studies, Integrated Economy, and Critical Thinking

— Description of Excel College’s Degree Program —

By Economy (not Economics), we’re using one of the oldest and original meanings of the term derived from the Greek term oikonomia: stewardship, management of household affairs. Specifically, we are drawing from the theological concept of stewardship, leading to what the Greeks referred to as the Good Life — a virtuous life that fulfills our divinely created human nature. Using this definition of economy, our Bachelor degree has opened a pathway for students to integrate their faith into a customized emphasis.

Not confined to the classroom alone, our students are challenged and encouraged in 5 holistic pursuits (intellectual, spiritual, missional, practical, and professional) to become men and women who excel everywhere — in the classroom, home, church, work, community, and in their lives individually.

During the Practicum phase of Excel College, students continue to develop holistically, while concentrating on an emphasis that interests them personally. With the support and accountability of mentors and coaches, students design a customized learning experience that develops not only one-dimensional skills and experience according to set and relevant outcomes, but virtuous habits that lead them to become honest workers, family members, and citizens. In our model, we let the experts train our students on a basic skills level, while we equip them for a life of holistic flourishing.

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Digital Media Experience and Study

My training in media production didn’t necessarily happen in a classroom—it was something that matured through boots on the ground experiences behind my camera. It happened in intense disaster zones, on construction sites, firing ranges, in conversation with small business owners, and during tame coffee shop moments when I could put the camera down and finally reflect on what on Earth just happened. This has been a self-driven, deeply personal, and entrepreneurially rich journey that has taught me that in the end it’s been the relationships along the way that held the most value.

My earliest experiences were born out of raw curiosity and a friend convincing me to pick up my parent’s DSLR. Over time, that curiosity developed into a skillset that continues to bring real value to others. Through Exposure Works, I’ve had the blessing to work with clients ranging from local cafes to international news outlets, helping them shape and communicate their stories through photo and video content. Every project required some element of resourcefulness, professionalism, and adaptability—whether I was working closely with a team or solo in order to deliver.

Some of the best work I’ve done has been in the aftermath of a crisis. When hurricane Helene hit Western North Carolina right where I lay my head at night, I spent countless hours over the coming months capturing both devastation and resilience. In that moment I had coined it as “the most joy and pain me and my mechanical eye had ever come across.” That storm forced me and everyone around me to strip away anything inauthentic. In the path of destruction and discomfort, only real connection mattered. My photographic content became a bridge between those hurting and those with the means to help. A connection that can only be explained as a God thing. 

Professionally, I’ve served as a media producer for Excel College and the organizations partnered with for the sake of hurricane relief, creating documentary-style content to support crisis response and long-term recovery. I’ve also taken on client work like Alpha Tech’s range day productions, where I found myself not just producing deliverables, but also reflecting on how to ensure my content creates lasting value beyond a one-time post—versatile content that’s a little less finite. That kind of strategic thinking has become essential to my responsibility as a Christian creative as I work to bring attributes of Christ into the marketplace. 

I supplemented my learning with a variety of independent study—including earning an FAA Part 107 certification for commercial drone use and completing training in studio lighting to bring more control and intentionality to my visuals. And a number of hours watching artists far more technically advanced than I online. But the most valuable lessons have come from the experiences of doing the work itself: learning to listen well, pray hard, be adaptable, fall on my face, and get up quickly, 

Coming out of the storm—both literally and figuratively—I feel a more collected man emerged. This journey hasn’t just taught me to shoot better content or get a paper. It has taught me to set my compass and have a clear view of what matters: truth, beauty, connection—and the privilege to capture it all.

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Play your instrument to the tune of the Kingdom’s orchestra.