IU-South Bend grad finds her mission with coral reefs film

SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) - At first, it was all about the dollars for Coral Dorsch.

Dorsch, a recent Indiana University South Bend graduate, initially planned to major in business.

'œThe reason I chose business is because of money,'ť she said. 'œThat's what you're supposed to be doing going into college.'ť

But her true loves are art and expressing herself.

'œI could do business, but it just was not feeding my soul,'ť Dorsch said.

So she changed her major to graphic design with a focus on cinematography.

Dorsch graduated from IUSB this month. She was supposed to walk across a graduation stage, but coronavirus restrictions disrupted mass gatherings like college commencements.

Dorsch visited with her grandparents, hung out with her mother and went to the park.

'œMy boyfriend ordered dinner and surprised me and we watched a movie, and at the end of the night we popped a little bottle of champagne,'ť she said. 'œIt's all about finding your own way to celebrate.'ť

Dorsch certainly found her way. She came to IUSB believing that climbing the corporate ladder was the path to success. She left with skills that aligned with her passion for advocating for the environment.

Dorsch made a short documentary detailing how global climate change is destroying coral reefs and the efforts being made on the island of Bonaire to save them. The film is called 'œCoral for Corals,'ť and was a part of Dorsch's bachelor's of fine arts show. The show, where the work of graduating seniors is displayed in the college's art gallery, was another pandemic casualty.

People won't be able to see most of Dorsch's display, which includes a book she wrote and designed about the demise of the coral reefs, but they can view the documentary, 'œ Coral for Corals,'ť on YouTube.

Dorsch, a Mishawaka High School graduate, said she always worried about the environment. Her passion grew when a friend challenged her to embrace veganism.

'œI quit eating anything that was not of the earth, and that transformed how I viewed this world that we lived in,'ť Dorsch said. 'œBeing vegan sent me down a rabbit hole, and I began to look at all the things going on in this world.'ť

By the time Dorsch prepared to start on her senior project, she had studied endangered coral reefs. The project started as a play on her first name.

'œCoral talking about corals. Ha, ha, super funny,'ť she recalled. 'œBut then I started thinking and realized that it was a good idea because the issue was not getting a lot of exposure.'ť

Dorsch designed the book and created flyers and posters for the movie. It had always been her dream to make a documentary.

'œI just wanted to go over and beyond and create something that everybody could remember,'ť Dorsch said.

That energy made an impression on one of her first professors at IUSB, as well as one of her last. Mark Bradford was an adjunct professor in the Leighton School of Business who taught an introductory course that Dorsch took her freshman year.

He eventually realized that Dorsch was passionate about the environment.

'œAll students start college a little shy, but by the end of the semester, it became clear that she had a lot of drive,'ť Bradford recalled. 'œA lot of college students are afraid to form an opinion, but Coral always had an opinion.

'œIt was clear that she was going places. The question was where.'ť

Bradford said the direction became clearer when he saw Dorsch's documentary.

John Thompson, who instructed Dorsch in her last graphic design classes, said she was a fantastic student. 'œWhen she finds something that she is really passionate about, she puts all of her efforts into it.'ť

That's why Dorsch jumped at a chance to go to Bonaire when her boyfriend's family invited her to join them on holiday vacation.

She did research on the island and got her diving certification so she could see the condition of the reefs up close and shoot her own footage. She interviewed a scientist and a reef advocate, and then worked to edit the hours of footage that she turned into a 12-minute film.

'œThis is just a different way to inspire people to bring about change to their daily lives,'ť Dorsch said. 'œHopefully, I have done that to some degree.'ť

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Source: South Bend Tribune