Leonid Bekker

Leonid was born in a little town of Balta, out of Odessa city, Ukraine. First, he spent his green years in Kiev Cadet Military School, which influenced him greatly. Later, he was assigned to the Military Academy of Radioelectronics in St. Petersburg, Russia. After graduating with "distinction", in 1976, as a professional military officer, he traveled a lot all over the Central Asia part of Soviet Union. That was the very place where he started to enjoy mountain trips, hiking, climbing, and guitar songs. During his military service, he came up through the ranks of lieutenant to colonel, ending his service as a commander of a military base in Tashkent city, Uzbekistan. Having a profession that traditionally was well respected and prestigious in his society, he always have felt a great pride to defend and protect his country. Everything changed after the collapse of the Soviet Union; in 1997, he was discharged with honor, and then, finally, found himself in Miami's tropical climate. After learning some basic English, working night shifts at the air conditioner factory, eventually, the process of Reincarnation has started, and in the hot Summer of 2000, he began FIU's Master in Statistics program and graduated in the Fall of 2002, sustaining 55 graduate credits in Statistics and Mathematics. He recreated himself, gaining a new outlook on life through the hardship of studying and training. And now, again, he has a strong feeling of satisfaction when sharing his professional experience and his statistical knowledge with his students who inspire him to continue his efforts at excellence in his educational service.