From heavy equipment student to business owner: Emanual Campbell's operation to help | HCTC
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    From heavy equipment student to business owner: Emanual Campbell's operation to help

    Bigfoot Excavation has allowed Campbell to make a big difference for low-income people in eastern Kentucky

    Emanual Campbell is completing his third semester in Hazard Community & Technical College's (HCTC's) heavy equipment operation program. However, he is already working in the field as a self-employed excavator operator, providing services to people in eastern Kentucky through his Bigfoot Excavation. 

    Campbell always had an interest in heavy equipment.emanualcampbellportrait: Emanual Campbell is completing his third semester in Hazard Community & Technical College’s heavy equipment operation program. He owns and operates Bigfoot Excavation based in Leburn, serving the greater eastern Kentucky region.

    "As a boy, I played with toy machines, and I liked anything that had to do with heavy equipment," he said. "At 18, I became interested in welding. I was self-taught. I spent my time fixing dozers, loaders, skidders, excavators — you name it."  

    His interest in fixing heavy equipment through welding led to his interest in operating it. After the July 2022 flood, Campbell enrolled in the program to grow his knowledge, recognizing a need for excavation services in eastern Kentucky.

    "Families need work done on their land. They need septic tanks. But they can't always afford it,” he said. “I am working toward the point where I can get someone to a low monthly payment for the work I do."

    For Campbell, using heavy equipment is an opportunity to disconnect from the world and focus on completing a job. 

    truck: Emanual Campbell’s work truck features Bigfoot Excavation logos, drawing attention to his work as a heavy equipment operator. From land clearing, bush hogging, driveway repairs, culvert installations, drain pipe installations and demolitions to natural disaster cleanups, Campbell offers many services to his customers. "I'm in my world when I'm in the equipment. It's like therapy," he said. "I get in a piece and the whole world fades away. My aggravations, my troubles, my worries — the sound of the machine drowns them out. It's therapeutic."

    Campbell lives in Knott County with his wife and four cats. His faith plays an integral part in his life. 

    "The Lord has put me in a good position," he said. "I can talk to God about anything." 

    Campbell said HCTC's heavy equipment operation program has changed his life. 

    "The good faculty in the program has taught me so much," he said. "Willie Cornett is the kind of guy who you respect and can go to with questions. I respect him as a teacher, but I think of him as being a really good friend. He cares about us." 

    HCTC is home to Kentucky's only five-certificate heavy equipment operation program, the most comprehensive in the state. To learn more, contact Program Coordinator Willie Cornett by phone at (606) 487-3328 or email wcornett0004@kctcs.edu.