FARMINGTON — The Western Maine Storytelling Festival committee welcomed UMF junior Nicole Byrne as a summer intern to assist with the production of the festival being held in Farmington from July 19-21. The internship is provided through the University of Maine at Farmington’s Partnership for Civic Advancement.

Launched last spring, the partnership was developed to strengthen and expand university-community relations through the creation of experiential learning opportunities for students that serve regional needs and priorities, improve student learning outcomes and through the sharing of university resources and expertise advance sustainable development and steward quality of place in rural western Maine.

Nicole’s internship work is being supported by an intern stipend award made possible through a grant the partnership received from the Davis Family Foundation.

Originally from New Jersey, Nicole is a creative writing major. She is the president of UMF Poetry Slam and has served as president of the Honors Club and the secretary of the Writers’ Guild on campus. She was employed in recent semesters as a special projects assistant at the UMF Honors House.

Patricia O’Donnell, professor of creative writing, director of the BFA Program in Creative Writing and adviser to the Writers’ Guild, describes Nicole as “an honors students with genuine intellectual interests who is highly reliable, focused, down-to-earth and detail-oriented.”

Nicole indicated that she applied for the internship because she is interested in learning how to produce a festival or literary event from start to finish. With an eye to a future career in publishing, Nicole feels this internship will provide her with some requisite skills and experiences.

Festival details can be found at www.westernmainestorytelling.org.