School Staff

Meet the faculty and staff of Paradise Adventist Academy. They serve the students and families of PAA with care and commitment fueled by their love for Christ and a desire to see young men and women reach their full potential.

Dr. Linda Wysong Becker

Principal
Dr. Linda Wysong Becker has served as an administrator and faculty member at Union College, in Lincoln, Nebraska. She recently retired as Director of the Leadership Minor from 2016-2020. Previously, she was the Vice President for Student Services, a post she held from 2001-2016. She has had varied work experience as an elementary school principal, youth pastor, hospital administrator, and Director of Human Resources at Andrews University. She completed her doctorate at the University of Nebraska Lincoln, in Higher Education Administration with an emphasis in Leadership. Her areas of special interest are leadership and continuous improvement. She and four others have authored a book, A Handbook for Chairs, Second Edition published by Jossey-Bass. She has done consulting in healthcare, higher education, and industry. She has been a Baldrige examiner and presented papers for the Oxford Roundtable, American Association for Higher Education, and the ASHE Chairs Conference. She is the mother of two grown children and two stepsons. Her son, Dan Wysong is a pastor living in Woodland, California. Her daughter, Melissa Negretti, is a medical doctor doing Family Practice and Alternative Medicine in New Zealand. Steven and Randy Becker are both engineers. She is the grandmother of eight and enjoys being “Grandma Linda” whenever she can. She and her husband, Tom, enjoy adventure traveling both abroad and in their camper. They have eBikes and have biked over 1,000 miles in the last two years. Linda also enjoys watercolor painting, gardening, backpacking, cooking, teas with friends, quilting, spending time with family, and walking.

Laura Maas

Science, Math
Science and Biblical studies are often pitted against each other, but we believe the Bible reveals a tremendous wealth of insight regarding our role as caretakers of this world. At PAA, we do not want our students to accept either their faith or their scientific knowledge blindly. We encourage them to seek out truth (“Seek and ye shall find…”Matthew 7:7), question their beliefs, and base their faith on evidence. It is our prayer that through studying the wonders of science, the door to understanding the Creator’s heart and love for us will be opened to each student. As a student missionary in Micronesia, she fell in love with the discovery of how uniquely gifted each student is the capablity of mastering skills and knowledge they once perceived were too hard to learn. Education & Experience Bachelor’s degree in Health Science, with redentials of a Master of Arts in Secondary Education. Teaching for 9 years, including 5 years in Korea. Interests & Hobbies Favorite moments are tutoring after school or discussing topics regarding faith, traveling or books. She is an avid letter-writer, collecting stationery, water sports, art, knitting, eating Korean food, berry-picking, & having meaningful conversations with family and friends. She loves teaching all sciences, STEAM, and tries to incorporate art into her classes when possible. She is grateful God has allowed her to work at PAA where she has been able to include more project-based learning.

Linda Nystrom

Chaplain, Academic Counselor, Religion
Education & Experience: Master of Divinity, Andrews University, 2016 Bachelor of Arts (psychology, education [minor]), University of California, Los Angeles, 2010 Teaching Certificate, Designated subject (religion), NAD of Seventh-day Adventists, current Teaching since 2016 Interests & Hobbies Linda enjoys traveling, connecting with friends and family, and playing outside with her husband, Austin and son, Ocean, and dog, Tux.

Jason Eyer

Vice Principal, Physical Education, Athletic Director
Education & Experience Bachelor of Science (physical education), Pacific Union College, 1997 Teaching Certificate, Standard (physical education, mathematics, religion), NAD of Seventh-day Adventists, current Teaching since 1997 Interests & Hobbies: Jason enjoys being on the golf course, snow skiing and spending time with family.

David Goymer

Math, Physics
Education & Experience BA Theology with a minor in History, Newbold College, England, 1981 BSc Health Science, Weimar College, CA, 1987 MA Theology/Religion, Newbold College/Andrews University, 1991 Advanced Mathematics (Calculus, Differential Equations, etc), Cambridge University, Walla Walla University, Chico State University Interests & Hobbies: Mastering the guitar, composing music, gardening, cats & dogs, foreign languages, travel (Europe, Americas), fine woodworking, artistic expression, soccer, contemplating the nature of God & reality

Caleb Rasmussen

English, Yearbook
Education & Experience Bachelor of Arts in English, education emphasis; Pacific Union College, 2008 Master of Education; Pacific Union College, 2012 13 years of teaching experience in elementary and high school Biblical connection & Goal I want students in my classes to learn to wield language with clarity, power, and style. As we read in Proverbs 16:24, “Pleasant words are flowing honey, sweet to the taste and healing to the bones.” PAA graduates will appreciate skillful speaking and writing—and they’ll speak and write skillfully themselves so that they can serve God powerfully with their words. Interests & Hobbies I write word puzzles, and crossword puzzles I’ve written have been published in The New York Times, The Chronicle of Higher Education, The Wall Street Journal, and elsewhere. I like to juggle—flaming torches, knives, and up to five objects at once. I enjoy photography.

Sean McMurphy 

History Teacher
Education & Experience: Walla Walla High School, Walla Walla, WA — Student Teacher Walla Walla University, College Place, WA — Bachelor of Arts, History; Bachelor of Education, Secondary Education; Minor: Religion; Adventist Teaching Certification Blue Mountain Community College, Pendleton, OR — Associate of Arts- Oregon Transfer Interests & Hobbies Drawing, Video editing, Photo manipulation

School Staff

Dr. Linda Wysong Becker

Laura Maas

Linda Nystrom

Jason Eyer

David Goymer

Caleb Rasmussen

Sean McMurphy

Paradise Adventist Academy

School Staff

Member Title

Sean McMurphy 