For this Texas park worker, home is about the location — not the house

Brian Evaul started doing seasonal work in the national parks in 2015 after a vacation to the LeConte Lodge in Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

“I was just blown away by the whole place, and my first question to one of the employees there was, ‘How do I get a job up here?’ said Evaul. “And she said, ‘Well, we're actually looking for somebody.’”

Days later, Evaul applied. Since then, he’s worked eight seasonal positions and is currently a maintenance supervisor at Big Bend National Park in Texas.

Seasonal workers are a big part of the hospitality and leisure industry, which will typically hire during peak travel seasons like summer. That said, seasonal hiring was sluggish this past June, according to the Labor Department.

For people who do seasonal work, that often means finding new housing or living in employee housing, like Evaul.

“It's a little one-bedroom house,” said Evaul. “I've got a fully-equipped kitchen, nice bathroom, a queen bed. As a supervisor, one of the perks is that this is my place, and it's going to stay my place. Nobody's going to be moving in with me.”

To hear more of Evaul’s story, listen in the audio player above.