'Duck Dynasty' Producer Visits Imperial Beach Classroom to Research New Film

When asked if beards are mandatory for people on the show Duck Dynasty, Kevin Finn said the Robertson family just prefers facial hair.

The Louisiana duck call millionaires have something to do with Finn's beard and mustache as well, he said. While producing the show, the idea of a beard started to "slowly get inside my head." 

"I never thought I'd have a beard until this show," he said.

The show's April 24 season finale brought in 9.6 million viewers, making it the second most popular cable series in America, according to A&E.

Finn has been a producer for reality shows like MasterChef and The Biggest Loser and most recently directed a film called The Angry Video Game Nerd about a quest to find Atari video games buried in the desert.

He stopped by an AVID class at Mar Vista High School Thursday morning to speak to the class and share a few reality show secrets like how to make people cry on camera.

He also observed the class for a new screenplay he is writing titled Student Loans about America's student loan debt crisis.

Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) classes prepare students for admission to a four-year university. Started in 1980 in San Diego, AVID classes are now available in almost every state in America.

Finn's new movie is a comedy and social commentary that takes place in a setting similar to an AVID class, Finn said, where students try to hack their way out of student debt.

"I was the kid in high school who didn't want to think about the money, you know what I mean? I'm an artist, I'll let my parents think about the logistics and I'll just figure it out when I get there," he told the class. "I'm going to be rich. It's not going to be a problem or whatever I'm going to make it big."

Finn said he spent the next decade sending hundreds of dollars a month to a loan company. College loan debt can limit your options and "stunt your growth," he said.

"You can't take as many risks, you can't like invest, you can't start a business, a lot of things like that that you might otherwise," Finn said.

As someone who graduated from an arts college $70,000 in debt, Finn suggested students take time to apply for scholarships, make smart decisions and learn about the debt they may inherit in pursuit of higher education before signing loan contracts.

With the price of college in today, students have to be more mature than I was, he said.

Analysis by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York released in March found that student loan debt is the largest consumer debt in America aside from mortgages and the only form of consumer debt to increase since 2008. Since 2004 student loan debt has nearly tripled to total $966 billion. One-third of that debt is held by people under the age of 30.

The amount of borrowers and average balance per person increased 70 between 2004 and 2012.

Teacher Filemón Jara reiterated AVID's mantra to prepare early for college and to make wise decisions about higher education, including student loans.

"It's more competitive now than ever before," Jara said about college admission. "Where do you want to be in 10, 15, 20 years? That's what you have to consider."