(By TAYLOR PELLE)

NEW BRAUNFELS — As a plumbing and electrical contractor, Jackson Sanchez knows a lot about putting things together and taking them back apart. While some may say this skill is attributed to the master journeymen who taught him, Jackson’s inquisitive nature started much earlier.

Jackson, a 22-year-old from New Braunfels, Texas, attributes his critical thinking and problem-solving skills to the colorful plastic tiny bricks known as Legos. 

Jackson’s love for Legos began when he was very young. “Legos were my favorite toy growing up, but I can’t remember what my first set was or who gave it to me; I just always had them.”

His interest in the blocks didn’t stop at a young age. Jackson has accumulated an extensive collection over the years, his favorite being the Legos of the Star Wars franchise.

“When I was little, I was obsessed with Star Wars. I would watch the movies while building Lego sets to resemble the ships. But, of course, that was before I had instructions to follow, and I’m not sure I was even old enough to read them if I had instructions.”

Jackson has many shelves filled with Lego Star Wars ships. Next to them are Lego car models, another one of his hobbies. His collection of Legos now consists of sets he built as an adult, as Jackson uses Legos as a form of stress relief now, rather than the mindless fun he encountered as a child. 

“As a child, I would build them up as high as they could go to see when they would fall, then I’d rebuild them with better structure so it would be even higher.”

Critical thinking as such is what Jackson believes led him to success in his career. Being a plumber and electrical contractor involves a lot of trial and error.

“If you make a mistake, you have to take the whole thing apart and put it back together, much like Legos.”   

While Jackson is still finishing up his apprenticeship to become a journeyman, he is ahead of most his age in the trade industry, and he has a crew that he oversees teaching, under the supervision of his master electrician. 

He works long hours through the week with his team, instructing them on the basics while still learning new things for himself. When he gets home, Jackson studies his national electric code textbook to prepare for his journeyman’s test.

With the bit of free time he has, he hangs out with family and friends, and if he sees a glimpse of time to himself, it is dedicated to a new Lego set. 

“I wish you could have seen what Jackson built when he was little, all without instructions,” Jackson’s mom, Saundra Abernathy, says. “I knew he was going to go places, and I know all moms say that with their children, but with Jackson, it was different.”

She encouraged Jackson to create with Legos as a child, as she believed it was good for his developing brain. “Jackson liked other things too. I had to limit his video game time because I just felt like it would rot his brain. But Legos are the one thing he had no limit on. I just felt like it was developing skills no other toys could provide,” Saundra says. 

Jackson agrees with his mom that this is where he grew his creative thinking and problem-solving skills as a child.

“Having access to toys like Legos helped me in my work now. I’m not sure I’d be where I am if my mom let me play video games all day instead of Legos,” Jackson says.

His ability to adapt and change methods closely resembles the skills it takes to build Lego bricks on a much larger scale. 

“Legos are essentially the building blocks of life, or at least they were for me.”