
PIXEL
THE DIGITAL MASS MEDIA
DEPARTMENT SHOWCASE 2022
Meet our Mass Media Department Instructors
Cristina Salup
Department Head - Broadcasting
Mrs. Salup has always seen the value in a visual story. Her background in communications was imperative to the creation of the Digital Mass Media Department. She graduated from the College of Journalism and Communications from the University of Florida in the area of Television Production. She later went on to complete her Master's degree from Nova Southeastern Univesity in Elementary Education. She has been a teacher for 18 years, teaching several subject matters. Mrs. Salup has worked to achieve several certifications to further best practices in education. Amongst others, she is a certified: Apple Teacher; Google Level 2; and, Adobe Train the Trainer. Having students learn the value of their voice and how they can impact the world through visual media is a lasting skillset she hopes they take with them well beyond their middle school years. On her off hours, she enjoys a good Gator game, cheering her children at their respective sporting events, and spending time with her husband.
Cori Basulto-Fraga
Journalism
Mrs. Cori Basulto-Fraga been the Middle School journalism teacher and yearbook adviser at Gulliver for seven years. During this time, her yearbook staff has produced many award-winning publications earning Gold Medalist from Columbia Scholastic Press Association (CSPA), First-Class from National Scholastic Press Association (NSPA) and All-Florida from Florida Scholastic Press Association (FSPA). Prior to joining Gulliver, she was a high school yearbook adviser and English teacher from 1995-2002. Her passion for journalism and layout design started in eighth grade when she was anchor on her school morning announcements and a layout editor for her junior high school yearbook staff, and she continued working on this interest throughout high school. She received her BA in Journalism and Mass Communication from Florida International University and continued with master credits in English Education and Student Media Advising. She has critiqued yearbooks for CSPA as well as for Journalism Educators Association (JEA). Mrs. Basulto-Fraga loves working with her students and documenting all the exciting academic, extra-curricular, and sporting activities each school year. Her favorite moments in the classroom are when students are actively collaborating, designing, and learning from each other. However, the most rewarding part of the school year is when the yearbook is distributed to the student body. When not teaching, Mrs. Basulto-Fraga enjoys rollerblading, boating, and spending quality family time with her husband and four children (ages 11-21).
Patricia Wyszkowski
Digital Design 1
Mrs. Patty Wyszkowski has been a teacher for 26 years, four of those years have been spent at Gulliver. She began as an elementary school teacher and has been teaching in the middle school technology field for the past 12 years. She received a double major in Education and Psychology at the University of Miami in 1992 and earned a Masters in Educational Technology from the American College of Education in 2016. This is when her passion for the use of technology in educating her students began. Our children are a wealth of information and knowledge and their language is digital. As a Digital Design and STEAM teacher, she enjoys watching her students use these digital skills to design and create useful solutions for their world. With every project the students are given, she is amazed by what they can produce. She is so excited about being part of the Digital Mass Media department and witnessing the creative expression of her students. In her free time, you can probably find her on a soccer field somewhere while spending time with her husband and three children.
Rick Funes
Digital Design 1, 2
Mr. Funes has always had a love for Design and Design Thinking. He believes that design affects everyone in the way they behave and feel about themselves. He also believes that design is innate in everyone and that it can be cultivated when given the proper guidance. To prove this, he will often ask someone if they have ever walked into a room and felt immediately comfortable, or been moved by a photograph or painting, or even felt confident wearing a special outfit - that is the power of good design. You don't know why it affects you positively, but it does. The designer does know, however, anyone can learn these principals.
Mr. Funes graduated from New York City Tech where he majored in Graphic Arts & Advertising before going on to the School of Visual Arts in New York. He began working in New York for large art departments and art agencies before moving to Miami where he has been teaching for over 25 years. Aside from teaching, he is also an artist and a part of the maker community in Miami. He enjoys teaching design because he knows students can easily apply the skills they learn in his class to any other discipline.