For schools and colleges that want to stand out, Maritza Cosano helps conceptualize and publish smart, award-winning student publications — magazines, literary journals, eBooks, and yearbooks — taught with her “Strictly Journalism” curriculum.
Maritza Cosano produced Score 2023, the annual publication of Frost School of Music at the University of Miami. She conceptualized all the stories, wrote 90 percent of the content, assigned stories to other writers, and managed production—from hiring the photographer and designer to working with vendors—to make this one of Frost School of Music’s best editions.
Maritza taught journalism to Calvary Christian Academy’s high school students for seven years, training them in Adobe InDesign, Photoshop, and Illustrator, digital photography, and the nuts and bolts of journalism. Her class published The Messenger, an award-winning publication and member of the Columbia Scholastic Press Association and the Sun Sentinel Student Press Association.
A story. A piece of art or photograph—a collection of creative student works. That’s what Journey Literary Magazine was for Calvary Christian Academy from 2011 to 2014. Maritza founded it to showcase the best student writing, art, and photography in a well-designed publication.
Maritza founded Calvary Christian Academy’s first Creative Writing Club in 2011. Three years later, members put together their best works and produced the academy’s first eBook, “Think.” Maritza designed both the cover and inside pages.
In “Strictly Journalism,” Maritza captured the art and essence of scholastic journalism. Mixing storytelling with actual lessons—from building your newsroom to choosing your staff—her step-by-step, hands-on curriculum teaches middle and high school students how to conceptualize story ideas, write soft and hard news stories that captivate a young audience, and use the tools of the trade: Adobe InDesign, Photoshop, and Illustrator. These lessons in news writing, editing, researching, interviewing, photography, and the business of publishing a news magazine are a must for any young journalist serious about an industry that's evolving every day.
The Portfolio is Bak Middle School of the Arts' student publication, which is part of the Journalism 2 class, taught by Maritza Coano.