By Andie Valdes

Josh Bretz’s lifelong dream turned into reality when he received news that he had been hired for a highly competitive product design position at LEGO.

Originally, Bretz (’24) chose to study marketing media at The Master’s University with the intention of working in business. But ever since childhood, when he first developed a love for creatively stacking LEGO bricks, his hope was to become a designer for the Denmark-based company.

Throughout his time at the University, Bretz continued to learn about the system and culture of LEGO, perfect his LEGO design craft, and prepare his portfolio for the day he would apply. When the opportunity arrived, he was ready.

In the spring of last year, Bretz saw a job posting for a product designer, where he would be in charge of taking concepts and turning them into marketable brick form. He applied, and after a series of interviews that Bretz describes as intense, he was invited in October to Denmark for a trial run of hands-on building and engagement with the LEGO team. Eventually, he received the good news through a phone call that he’d been hired: “It was really early in the morning — I jumped out of bed, because I recognized the area code,” Bretz said. “I was just really nervous. But it was a happy call. A ‘congratulations’ call. I didn’t quite believe it at first.”

Now a graduate of TMU, Bretz credits several people with helping prepare him for his dream position.

It was in Dr. John Beck’s Business Communications class where he learned several foundational skills of business, including proper email etiquette and how to deliver a compelling presentation.

From Prof. Mike Nesheim, he received personal mentorship. “He was a guiding hand and offered me a lot of advice,” Bretz says. “I was even able to go to him for questions about non-academic things, like how to think about life critically with a biblical lens and how it can glorify God.”

But the most important inspiration to Bretz was his girlfriend and now wife, Layah (’24). “She was there for me through all this and was on board to come with me to Denmark,” he says. “She really was the support I needed.”

Bretz can’t predict what challenges will arise from moving to a foreign country to work for a global company, but he knows who he strives to be. “I just want to be known as a hard worker, someone who people like to be around, and someone who gets things done on time,” he says.

Along with academic preparation for his professional endeavours, Bretz says the University was instrumental in his spiritual walk. In fact, one of the biggest things Bretz realized at TMU was that faith isn’t just for Sundays. Rather, his walk with Christ needs to be the driving force throughout his entire week — and now specifically his new job working at LEGO, which he started in March.

“I’ve learned a lot about actually incorporating things that I’m reading in my studies into how I respond to things at work,” he says. “There were many people who were trying to get this spot, so I feel very blessed and it’s very clear that the Lord has brought this into my life at this time.”