Abington High School senior Cameron Curney is the host of the show “Coffee with Cam.” The show is produced weekly, giving information about events in the school community. 

At times “Coffee with Cam” has been hosted by guests, and Curney has had interviews, in which he talks to a special guest from the school community. But overall, the purpose is to provide the news. It airs every Friday morning in homerooms.

Curney said that, “The idea of a show, I feel like, really came from last year’s morning announcements.” He gave a shout out to Brian Quintero and Sarah Campbell, and said that “without them, this idea, really, I guess, really wouldn’t have hit us.”

Quintero, a senior last year, and Campbell, a junior last year, were both a part of the Media Production class. Mr. Shannon, the director of Abington’s music and drama, led the Media Production class last year. Both Quintero and Campbell were featured on the morning announcements.

After Curney’s initial idea for “Coffee with Cam,” it did not take long for it to grow. “It took about a week to two weeks from the brainstorm to a storyboard, which turned into scripts and test screenings with the help of Justin Shannahan [previous Abington CAM Executive Director], and we were able to pull it off.” That was Sept. 16, 2019. The first one aired Oct. 4, 2019.

Curney often reports on “what students normally see each morning projected on the whiteboards.” But his team’s goal, he added, “is to create a more engaging means to share that info.” The information that he gets comes from “the daily messages sent out by the front office, teachers, and club advisers who approach him and ask if I could put something on.”

The familiar “Coffee with Cam” tune, or ditty, is by Abington resident, environmentalist, and musician Dan Brielmann.  Curney explains that, “During some early testing for our intro, we realized that it needed some music.  Justin [Shannahan] hit the play button to start playing through some potential options, and Dan Briellman’s “Back to the Land” came on.  Me and Derek [Tirrell] immediately fell in love with it.  We still listen to the full song almost every time we shoot.” 

Curney had to form a crew to help him with the show.  “At first, I asked all my friends, but they all thought it was cringe. But Derek Tirrell, the Brodie, agreed to it. Then, [Abington senior] John Mueller, who had an internship at CAM, said he would help. Justin Shannahan was integral to the set up and was a lot of fun to work with.”  Curney also noted that, “Kevin Tocchi [the new executive director] has been very helpful with the shows continuation,” Curney said. 

 A lot of effort goes into the weekly program. Curney  said that, “I want it to be as good as possible and make it perfect without messing up the script.” He added, “Trying to make an episode as great it can be for the viewers is one of the hardest parts.”   

Although Curney acknowledged that the show is called “Coffee with Cam,” he said it is a team effort. “Everybody working behind the scenes does a lot of work. Without them, the show wouldn’t flow,” Curney said. “If I could, I’d make the title ‘Coffee with Cam, Derek, and John,’ as they do just as much, if not more, than I do,” he added.  

Be sure to check out all of the “Coffee with Cam” shows.