When she was younger, Nikki Byrne wanted to perform.
“In middle school, I really wanted to be an actor, and auditioned for everything,” the Pace Academy alumni said, “and never got cast.”
But that disappointment wouldn’t last for long. According to Byrne, Patrick Campbell – the director of the middle school plays at Pace – noticed her passion for the theater department, and suggested an alternative opportunity.
“He’s probably why I’m in entertainment now,” Byrne said. “He saw that I was really interested in it, and kept trying to be an actor and to be on stage crew. He finally came up to me and said, ‘Hey, do you want to be the director’s assistant for the musical?’”
For his part, Campbell called Byrne “dedicated, hard-working, and observant,” and joked he wished she could come back and help him again.
“Nikki moved performers from rehearsal stages to choreography, from backstage to dressing rooms, to calling lighting cues, to shifting scenery onstage,” he said in an emailed statement. “Thought it all: she watched, she learned, she learned to anticipate, and by the time she got to Upper School, she was directing and writing her own short shows.”
Campbell’s offer changed everything for Byrne. By the time she was a senior in high school, she knew she wanted to work in the industry. She decided to go to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, majoring in media production with a minor in history. And, this summer, she’s interning in the scripted series production department at Hallmark Media through the Television Academy Foundation Internship program in Los Angeles.
The program, according to a press release, offers paid internships at studios and production companies in Hollywood. Byrne was one of 40 students chosen for the 2026 slate.
Byrne has always loved movies, but it was at Chapel Hill where she really started to learn how to actually make them. She estimated that she helped make about 10 short films throughout her college career, whether that be as a producer, director, or writer. Directing, however, is her passion.
“I really like making creative decisions. I’ve heard from so many people, now that I’m out here asking for any advice, that the main thing to know about directing is that people are going to be asking you questions constantly,” she said. “Of course that will be overwhelming, as it is for everyone, but I’m also really excited to be the one making those decisions, because I always have a vision.”
Byrne said her experience with Hallmark has been wonderful, and that they’ve lived up to their reputation for dealing in joy.
“Everyone’s so nice,” she said. “I’m just an intern! Why does everyone want to meet me and talk with me and buy me lunch? They’re so helpful.”
Byrne said she has a few ongoing internship projects, but a lot of her days are spent shadowing her boss, attending workshops, or setting up her own meetings with people in other departments to learn more about how the machine operates.
“I feel like I have a really good idea of not just what interns do, but of what people in the physical production department actually are doing,” she said.
Byrne walked for graduation in May, but technically won’t get her diploma until August. After that, her main goal is to be a casting assistant, but she also wants to gain onset experience as a production assistant and eventually work as a director’s assistant – coming full circle back to her old middle school position.
