You may have noticed some new faces keeping a watchful eye on UNLV’s Maryland Parkway campus as of late. 

The ranks of officers within the University Police Department are growing, as the department advances its efforts to ensure the safety of the UNLV campus community.

The “probies,” short for probationary officers, have begun their field training, where they’ll put into practice what they’ve learned in the academy and hone community service skills during patrols of the university’s 350-acre campus. 

The new recruits, some young and others young at heart, are part of the strategy employed by UPD Chief Arnold Vasquez and his team to meet the needs of the university community as student enrollment continues to grow. Since the beginning of 2024, UPD has added 25 full-time officers and two part-time officers, with more on the way as a new class of cadets graduated from the academy earlier this year. 

“I’m particularly proud of this class of recruits because it embodied our preference to cherry pick top criminal justice students from UNLV and also secure the services of retired veteran officers, who have the leadership experience that will be a positive influence throughout the department,” Vasquez explained. 

The Rookie: Nathan Rosendall

One of those cadet-turned-officers may be quite familiar to many on the Maryland Parkway campus. 

A 2024 criminal justice graduate, Nathan Rosendall was valedictorian of the latest university police officer cadet class. He had made it his goal to become a police officer following years of patrolling campus as a student cadet and Community Service Officer. 

Rosendall, 24, began his academy training in August 2025 and he and 15 other candidates graduated Jan. 8. 

But his education in law enforcement began years earlier in the halls of the Greenspun College of Urban Affairs, where, when he wasn’t in class, he would sometimes patrol wearing the black shirt and khaki cargo pants uniform worn by student cadets. 

That struck a note with one of his teachers, criminal justice professor Alexandra Nur, who would see Rosendall in uniform around campus.

“Nathan was a fantastic student and was so clearly dedicated to learning … I recall that Nathan's assignments demonstrated his desire to balance empathy and public safety,” the professor said.

Rosendall said that Nur’s class "gave me a much broader perspective of the criminal justice field."

Nur and the criminal justice department, Rosendall explained, “did a great job of not only teaching the basics of the field, but also going deeper in and analyzing how these fields work within society and the flaws that potentially need to be improved upon.”

Sounding every bit of a pure Midwestern with a baritone accent and a head of blonde locks, the Lansing, Michigan native had wanted to become a police officer since he attended a week-long junior police academy at a local community college in the Great Lakes State.  

Rosendall’s family also played an influential role in his career path, he said. “My mom was a civilian employee with the Michigan State Police academy and my stepdad retired as a detective lieutenant with them,” he said.

Nur isn’t surprised by Rosendall’s early success. “I recall that Nathan would often come to class in his UPD cadet uniform and I saw him patrolling the hallways of Greenspun Hall on multiple occasions,” she said. “It does not surprise me that Nathan graduated first in his class given his dedication to his studies. I am heartened to know that people like Nathan will be keeping our community safe. I expect great things as Nathan progresses in his tenure as an officer.”

Chief Arnold Vasquez said it’s been really exciting to see Rosendall work his way up the ladder from student cadet to police officer. 

“We now have a clear pipeline from the university classroom to wearing a badge, and it all started at UNLV,” said Vasquez.

For his part, Rosendall is proud of his success so far, but he knows he has a lot to learn as he goes through field training. He may have been first in his class, but he admits, second place wasn’t too far behind.

The Veteran: Sean Mason

In fact, the officer who was second in the class actually finished first in the academy’s physical training category. 

That might not seem too shocking until you realize Officer Sean Mason doesn’t fit the typical age profile of a new cadet.

Mason moved to Las Vegas to be closer to family after retiring as a captain from the New York City Police Department (NYPD) and a stint working in private security. 

“In complete honesty, I realized I’m not ready for the rocking chair on the front porch just yet,” the 58-year-old quipped with a characteristic fast-moving, non-rhotic New York accent.

During his time with the NYPD, Mason held a number of different positions, but he reflected on his time working patrol in places like the Bronx. There he used community police work tactics to earn respect from neighborhood folks living in one of the rougher parts of New York City.

Joining UPD provided Mason a chance to employ those skills anew. 

The department’s community policing philosophy guides officers’ interactions with the different campuses and the Las Vegas community in order to identify and solve problems through proactive policing and community outreach.

“It’s definitely an opportunity for more community-oriented policing,” Mason said. “We want to provide help. And that could be in the form of getting those in need to the right services or just being someone to talk to.”

At his age and with his extensive law enforcement experience, Mason seemed like an easy fit for UPD, which often recruits retired police officers who are not ready to stop working. But Mason, who had gone into private security following his NYPD career, had his police officer certification lapse and needed to go through the academy all over again. 

Chief Vasquez, who is admittedly closer in age to Mason than Rosendall, admires the new officer for his willingness to go through the academy all over again. It’s no easy task, physically, Vasquez said. For instance, the academy requirements include strenuous obstacle courses and a whole lot of running. 

But Mason shocked them all, besting his fellow cadets and placing first in the class in the physical curriculum. “When I was younger, yes, I always hit the gym. But here? At my age? What I find is that body weight exercise is a little more forgiving on the joints,” Mason said, explaining that means lots of push-ups, pull-ups, and long distance running. And staying away from too much pizza, the East-Coaster said with a big smile.

For Mason, going back out on patrol is more than having a job to avoid retirement. Actually, being a sergeant on patrol was probably the most fun he ever had on the job, he recalled.

“It's like people who are drawn to this job, they are drawn to the camaraderie,” Mason said. “There’s this saying that when you retire, you're going to miss the cooks, but not the kitchen. Well, yeah, you do miss the cooks, but you also miss the kitchen.”