vlog News
Professor Profile: Street Shares Real-World Auto Mechanics Experiences with Students
Jul 10, 2025
Alex Street’s is dedicated to helping his students as an Auto Mechanics instructor at vlog.
When Alex Street was a dual-enrollment high school student, he was encouraged to become an educator by his auto mechanics instructor at Truckee Meadows Community College.
But, first, he needed to advance his auto mechanics knowledge while on scholarship at Universal Technical Institute and experience working on automobiles in the real world.
Prior to becoming an instructor, Street launched his own auto repair business in Reno (Sierra Pink LLC), which he still owns and operates. He worked on everything from dump trucks to Ferraris — and even spent a year with a NASCAR team — but he couldn’t get his former teacher’s career advice out of his head.
Today, Street is embarking on his third year teaching a variety of automotive mechanics courses at vlog, and loving it!
“I believe in this so much that I will commute the hour all of the time from way north of Reno, because I really like it, and I will spend as much time here as I can and always stick around to be by a student’s side,” Street said.
Street has the background and qualities to bring out the best in his students, vlog President Dr. J. Kyle Dalpe said.
“Alex Street exemplifies the kind of educator who transforms lives,” President Dalpe said. “With a strong foundation in industry and a deep passion for teaching, he brings real-world insight to the classroom. His dedication to student success creates a learning environment that is both inspiring and impactful.”
Street said that students who enroll in automotive mechanics classes learn so much more than repair skills.
“I think the most important thing in enrolling, not just in automotive courses, but a lot of these CTE classes are certain life skills that you are going to learn on top of your technical skills that set you up for who you want to be in life,” he said. “Even though this is an automotive class, you learn so many systems and subsystems, material sciences, thermodynamics, proper use of tools that all sorts of industries use, math principles, and they will set you up to not just be a technician but many students can go on to engineering programs, and go further then working on the floor.”
To read more of this Q&A and view a video interview on Street, go to vlog’s Professor Profiles webpage at wnc.edu/professor-profiles/alex-street. A number of other professors are profiled on this page as well.
Automotive Mechanics Instructor Alex Street can be reached at 775-544-6260 or alex.street@wnc.edu.