Stephen F. Austin State University’s police department, Officer Elijah Lenderman, Corporal Ian McDonald and Corporal Justin Henderson, were presented letters of commendation July 10 in recognition of their life-saving response to a Rave Guardian application call.  

From left, members of Stephen F. Austin State University’s police department, Officer Elijah Lenderman, Corporal Ian McDonald and Corporal Justin Henderson, were presented letters of commendation July 10 in recognition of their life-saving response to a Rave Guardian application call.  


NACOGDOCHES, Texas — Three officers in Stephen F. Austin State University’s police department were recognized during a dual commissioning ceremony July 10 in the Baker Pattillo Student Center Grand Ballroom for their life-saving response to a distress call. 

Corporal Justin Henderson, Corporal Ian McDonald and Officer Elijah Lenderman responded to a call from the Rave Guardian application by swiftly and professionally providing the caller with life-saving support. The three were presented with a letter of commendation during the event. 

“Their actions are deserving of the recognition for their commitment of serving the Nacogdoches and SFA communities with distinction, bravery and professionalism,” said Craig Goodman, University Police Department deputy chief, during the ceremony.

The Rave Guardian mobile phone application enhances campus safety through real-time interactive features that create a virtual safety network of friends, family and UPD officers. Safety features provided by the application include the following:

  • Panic button: Offers direct, immediate connection to campus police with GPS location and personal information.
  • Tip texting: Enables anonymous, two-way, crime tip reporting through text and images.
  • Personal guardians and safety timers: Allow guardians and/or UPD to check the status of a student during a timer session. Students can set UPD as an automatic "guardian" along with friends, roommates and family when setting their Rave Guardian safety timers. If the safety timer is not deactivated before it expires, the person selected as a guardian is automatically provided with the student's Rave Guardian profile to proactively identify and check in on the individual.
  • Safety profile: Displays information such as residence details and medical conditions to UPD and Smart911-enabled 911 centers nationwide when a student requires assistance on- or off-campus. Students create their safety profiles.

Faculty, staff and students can download the Rave Guardian application for either iPhone or Android phones by selecting the Rave Guardian application in the appropriate app store. To create a personal profile, a user must enter an SFA-issued email address for the profile setup.

For more information about UPD, visit sfasu.edu/upd.