Emed Sidaros

Student

“There’s still so much I don’t know about. It might take me four hours to install a clutch. But I’m learning.”

Emed Sidaros was born in Alexandria, Egypt but moved to Los Angeles with his family when he was two. Since then, he’s become 100% Angelino. “I’m real adventurous,” says Emed. “Whatever comes up, I’m ready.” What often comes up in California is the surf. And when it does Emed, a devoted boogie boarder, will be there. Yet there remains a lot of the Middle East in this apprentice mechanic.

“My whole family still speaks Arabic,” says Emed. “And I keep up with it because I don’t want to lose my own language.” And Emed’s father, with whom he’ll soon be making a return to Egypt, keeps him up with current events in the “old country.”

But Emed is busy dealing with city life in the “new country”. “I’m a waiter at night, and mornings I work at Santa Monica VW,” says Emed. “Then afternoons it’s off to SMC to study mechanics. So I guess I’ve got a pretty full schedule.”

Emed has studied with all the teachers in SMC’s Automotive Technology program. “They’re all great teachers,” he says. “And I really wouldn’t mind teaching mechanics myself some day.” And though Emed’s plans at the moment include a long career as a mechanic, he’s aware of some of the risks and has “Plan B” in mind.

“Being a mechanic is really rough on your body,” says Emed. “So I’m going to be taking some night classes at SMC in real estate. That way, no matter how things go with mechanics, I’ll have something to fall back on.”

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