Seniors Miguel Mendes and Azucena Lemus both play in the marching band at Hawthorne High School. Both credit the program's G.P.A. requirenments with pushing them to try harder academically. (Neon Tommy)

Hawthorne High School senior Azusena Lemus failed every class her freshman year. But then she found marching band; somewhere between competing in tournaments and performing at events across town, Lemus began to consider the band room a second home. And when she realized that she needed better grades to meet the program's grade requirements and continue marching, Lemus began trying in her other classes. 

"Ever since joining marching band, I've been doing really good," said Lemus. "Today I have one B. The rest are all A's."

Lemus and 21 other seniors in Hawthorne's four-year-old Visual and Performing Arts Academy (V.A.P.A.) will graduate in May. While the school itself has unique ties to Southern Californian music history—former students of Hawthorne include members of diverse musical acts, from The Beach Boys to Black Flag, Emitt Rhodes to Odd Future.

However, Hawthorne, Calif., once the epicenter of Southern California surf and hot rod culture, has felt its share of misfortune in recent years. Today, one in five residents lives below the poverty line; seven out of 10 students at Hawthorne High qualify for free lunch. Meanwhile, the violent crime rate in the surrounding neighborhood is often more than twice that of the national average.

"This neighborhood being a tough neighborhood, music actually is an escape," said Anthony Hughes, the founder of the V.A.P.A. academy. "For half these students, they only have this."

Anthony Hughes flips through an old yearbook. The 43-year-old upright bass player from Carson, Calif. estimates he's spent at least a quarter of his paycheck on band equipment. (Neon Tommy)

Hughes is a native of the South Bay region. He started the V.A.P.A. Academy four years ago to build a sense of "esprit de corps"—unity and belonging—among music and arts students at Hawthorne High. Such a feeling, said Hughes, did not exist when he first arrived at the school five years ago; rather, Hughes said he found the music program in shambles. "There were nine students in band," he recalled. "Not one of them could read. Not one of them could play." 

Faced with a dysfunctional music program, Hughes sought to build a new one. After a year he established the V.A.P.A. Academy, which established a marching band along with a flurry of other courses—including a jazz band as well as a "production and synthesis" class where students make microphones and learn the basics of recording. Today 124 students take part in the program, 79 of which play in the marching band.

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Hughes still sees room for improvement. The program needs to include more forms of art, according to Hughes. Perhaps his program should incorporate juries to simulate the realities of studying music beyond high school. Hopefully every single one of his students will be capable of passing a college audition by their senior year.

"The first thing he told me was, 'If this is your first day in school, you guys are two weeks behind in music,'" said Brian Garcia, a senior who plays saxophone in the marching band. "It's either you have to get your stuff straight or you just fall behind."

But consider the progress that Hawthorne's music program has made in these past five years. A band that once consisted of nine students has turned into an academy of hundreds. Kids who couldn't read music have become kids who study music theory out of college-level textbooks. 

When marching band students needed mouthpieces and marching shoes, Hughes bought them himself. He estimates he's spent at least a quarter of his salary on buying equipment for the band. 

"It's not a big deal," said Hughes. "Yes it's my money but you know what, I gave up a lot of money by being a teacher. I don't do this for the money."

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"During marching season, he spends his entire time here," said Miguel Mendes, a senior who plays piccolo in the marching band. "Even when we don't have rehearsals he stays here. I don't know when he leaves but it's late."

Perhaps the most profound effect of Hughes' efforts has been the development of a sense of unity and belonging among academy students. Consolidating the arts into a single section of the school means that students in the V.A.P.A. program share most of the same teachers and spend most of their time at school interacting with the same students. 

"We pretty much spend all our time...in the band room," said Melissa Morfin, a senior who plays saxophone in the marching band.

Seniors Brian Garcia and Melissa Morfin are among the 21 V.A.P.A. students graduating this spring. (Neon Tommy)

"It always feels like I'm at home," said Esai Salas, a junior who plays electric bass in the marching band. "It's a big family. You learn to grow with each other."

"Sometimes when we are coming back from competitions, we're like 'Oh okay, we're going home,'" said Lemus. "We're coming back here, but we still call it home."

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May marks the graduation date for the seniors of the V.A.P.A. academy. For some students like Miguel Mendes, the experience has helped him realize a larger goal of pursing music professionally. For others, like Melissa Morfin, V.A.P.A. has introduced them to management, production and other professions revolving around music performance. Then there are students like Azusena Lemus and Brian Garcia, who want to pursue other fields while playing music on the side. Then there's Lemus herself, for which V.A.P.A. amounted to a much-needed wake-up call. 

And then there's Anthony Hughes, the man who put his heart and soul into the academy.  

"I've actually considered becoming a music teacher [because of Hughes]," said Salas. "I know it's a lot of hard work and takes a lot of dedication, but I see how Hughes is. Everything he does is because he cares."

Reach Senior Staff Reporter Aaron Liu here.