Discovering a New Passion

Sanders arrived at Notre Dame planning to study biology. The Chicago native, who graduated from a high school without an arts program, grew up thinking that a stable career meant becoming a doctor or a lawyer. Art was never presented as a viable path.

That changed when an academic advisor encouraged her to enroll in an introductory film course. She found it challenging and discovered she loved storytelling.

“I fell in love with the elements of making a movie,” Robin says. “And I realized that I could make a career out of this.”

Later that year, Sanders enrolled in a documentary filmmaking course that would challenge her in new ways and ultimately shape her creative direction.

Honing Her Craft

With support and encouragement from her instructor, Ted Mandell, Robin began work on “Between Sentences.” The documentary explores two relationships shaped by incarceration: one with her stepfather, who became her father figure after his release, and one with her biological father.

Robin’s stepfather, Charles Johnson, was one of the Marquette Park Four, a group of Black men who were wrongfully convicted as teenagers in Chicago following coerced confessions. The men, who spent more than 20 years in prison, filed successful civil rights lawsuits and received a settlement of $50 million from the City of Chicago. Charles was released when Robin was 14. Her biological father, Reginald Sanders, was sentenced to 40 years in prison on drug-related charges and released on parole when Robin was 22.

Telling that story required Robin to be resourceful. Rather than meticulously storyboarding every scene, she carried her camera with her and allowed conversations to unfold naturally. The result is a deeply personal documentary that explores how incarceration shaped her family while illuminating broader inequities within the American criminal justice system.

Sharing the story was its own challenge. Showing the film to classmates was one thing, but screening it at a campus film festival was another.

“That was really hard for me,” Robin recalls. “When they showed my film, I walked out, because I was so scared.”

But the film resonated. It won the Audience Choice Award, sparking conversations that continue today. Since its premiere, Robin has discussed the film with writers from “Saturday Night Live,” screened it for audiences in Connecticut, Indiana, and North Carolina, and hosted follow-up discussions over Zoom.

For Robin, that experience reaffirmed her commitment to telling authentic stories that challenge expectations.

“Filming has become my passion and it’s been therapeutic,” Robin says. “I’m comfortable sitting down at the table with people, talking through their stories, and telling them. I wanted to work with and advocate for underrepresented communicators, and I want to help educate people through my work.”

Getting the Support to Make an Impact

Robin graduated from Notre Dame in spring 2026 with degrees in film, television, and theatre as well as environmental earth science. Until then, she had relied entirely on camera equipment she checked out from the university.

Shortly after graduation, the Ellen Greenspun Bright Futures Fund helped Robin purchase her first professional video camera, allowing her to continue filming before beginning her Master of Fine Arts in Experimental and Documentary Arts at Duke University.

Robin met the fund’s founder, Lawrence Greenspun, while working as a student employee at Notre Dame’s Office of Digital Learning. Lawrence launched the fund in honor of his late wife, Ellen, to help women creatives overcome barriers and build sustainable creative careers through mentorship, funding, and strategic support. One of its first accomplishments was gathering women creatives from varying backgrounds, allowing them to meet with and learn from each other.

Now, as she prepares to begin graduate school and the next chapter of her career, Robin has both the confidence and the tools to continue telling stories that might otherwise go unheard.

“For me, this support has helped me launch my career immediately after graduation,” Robin says. “As I move across the country and start a new life, it’s one less thing I have to worry about paying for. Beyond that, it’s a reminder that I’m a professional, that I’m passionate about my work, and that people believe in me. I’m carrying that with me as I start the next chapter in my creative journey.”