Anyone watching a Mustang Band performance can agree: “The band always wins!”

When the 200-member strong Pride of the Pacific Mustang Marching Band takes center stage at Cal Poly football games, and other special events, they showcase musical mastery, clockwork precision and a passion that radiates into the stands.

Susan Braukus Hempstead is proud to watch as her son, Nate Hempstead, a fourth-year mechanical engineering student, stands confidently in the horns section. “Throughout his entire band career, Nate has always favored the horn angle stance,” said Susan said with a smile. “I can always spot him because he stands so straight playing his marching French horn, hands up, shoulders tall, elbows up! All 6’1” of him. He carries himself with such precision and presence, and then it also shows through when he goes into a job interview or meets new people. He has a confidence in how he holds himself that comes from the performing arts.”

As a mechanical engineering major with a demanding schedule, having a creative outlet that combines time outdoors and physical activity with a strong sense of community has been an important counterweight for Nate. “My first year in band camp, on the last day, was the first time we practiced Georging,” said Nate, referring to the band’s signature combination of dancing and chanting. “That was when I knew, for the first time, I had found my place at Cal Poly.”

From practicing high school band remotely during the COVID 19 pandemic, to planning elaborate group Halloween costumes with the entire horn section, to driving horns to game day horn breakfasts, Nate’s experiences building a strong team helped him gain the confidence to tackle hard challenges. “We joke that now he's applying for jobs, he knows how to navigate the ‘other duties as assigned’ from being in band,” said Susan. “He knows how to navigate team dynamics, and having a creative outlet makes him a little more unique in how he solves problems.”

While celebrating Nate’s success fills Susan with joy, it’s also bittersweet without her late parents, Bob and Jane Braukus. They were among Nate’s biggest fans, deeply involved in his education and never missing a single concert since he first picked up the French horn in fifth grade. Though they never had the chance to visit the Cal Poly campus, their love and support continue to resonate. In spirit, they are now forever part of the Mustang Band community.

"Nate and I talk all the time about how much they would have enjoyed everything about Cal Poly,” said Susan. “Not only the band, because they enjoyed that creativity and delight of the emotional connection with music, but to see Nate’s work in mechanical engineering and the labs he’s doing. They appreciated how music education is essential to creating a connected and spirited school community. I’m sorry every day that they missed this experience with him.”

To honor their memory, Susan, Nate, and his sister Hannah, used a small inheritance from her parents to create an endowment supporting the Mustang Band and a $5,000 matching gift for Poly Gives. She hopes this experience will inspire Nate and Hannah to carry on their grandparents’ legacy of giving by sharing their time, talents, and resources with community organizations.

“Supporting the Mustang Band and Cal Poly is our way of honoring my parents’ legacy—showing up for others every day, often in small but meaningful ways. We didn't come into this expecting to be philanthropists,” said Susan. “And that's a big word, but really, philanthropy is approachable at any level. Sharing your time, your talent or your resources in whatever way you can. For me, it’s both a way to carry forward my parents’ values and to invest the resources they left behind into something that builds community and momentum. It’s also an opportunity for Nate and Hannah to explore what it means to give back in their own way—to leave things better than they found them.”

While Nate misses his grandparents, it helps to see their continued contributions and support for the programs that helped shape who he is. “I’m a helper, a tinker-er and a problem fixer,” said Nate. “Being in band has been a lot of hard work, but completely worth it! Helping the band move forward is really exciting for me.”

When asked what words of wisdom he will always remember, Nate replied simply,
“Hydrate!” and “Horns up!”

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