Office Hours for Spring 2024
Monday: 9:25am - 9:55am
Tuesday: 10:30am - 12:00pm
Wednesday: 9:25am - 10:10am
Thursday: 10:30am - 12:00pm
Short Bio
Hello, my name is Lenny Leum and I prefer to go by either "Lenny" or "Mr. Leum," whichever you want. I am a Mathematics Instructor, and it is my passion to teach math to anyone who wants to learn the subject.
I grew up in southern California and first visited the Watsonville/Santa Cruz area as a teenager. I was impressed by the tall redwood trees and the powerful waves and moved up here to study at UC Santa Cruz (UCSC). I graduated about 6 years later with a Bachelors degree (B.A.) in Latin American and Latino Studies and Politics. Afterwards, I worked at various temporary teaching jobs in grades K-12 around the area.
One year, after my teaching job ended in June, I put all my stuff in storage and hiked the John Muir Trail from Mount Whitney to Yosemite. When I returned, I started working as a substitute teacher and taking Math classes at Cabrillo, but I couldn't stop thinking about long distance hiking. The following year after sending in a couple applications to Masters programs, I decided to throw caution (and the rest of my savings) to the wind and hike the Pacific Crest Trail. It took me about 5 months from April 12th until September 7th to walk over 2653 miles from the border wall separating Mexico / California, into Canada. Along the way, when I was in town, I ate lots of food but I also replied to college application requests.
After reaching Canada on foot, I took the train back and started studying Mathematics at Cal State East Bay the following school year. I eventually finished my Masters degree (M.S.) in Mathematics and later was admitted as a PhD student at UCSC. After 3 years taking classes and studying for the qualifying exams, I earned a second Masters degree (M.A.) in Mathematics and failed out of the PhD program. The following year, in 2016, I found this wonderful position teaching Mathematics at Cabrillo! I continue to pursue longtime passions for surfing and long distance hiking / backpacking / thru-hiking, along with my passion for teaching at Cabrillo.