Lauren Salzman So who is Roman—I mean Rodent—Gov? Ian Cummins has been our fearless leader on the gathering stage for two years now and has been instrumental in evolving what it means to be the Communications Chair here at Latin. Last year, I decided to run against Ian for the Communications Chair position, and he was the nicest competitor I’ve ever encountered. He offered to help me come up with ideas and calmed me down before we had to give our speeches on stage. I didn’t win (obviously), but there is nobody that I would’ve rather been defeated by. So thank you, Ian, for providing us with a safe, lighthearted space to come together each day and for being a supportive, fun-loving mentor to me and many others. You see it on the faces of Latin’s student body as they walk into gathering, music blasting with the sounds of laughter filling the air —they’re just happy. “He makes this school fun,” said senior Charlton McArdle, “he is the voice of the upper school. Even though he sometimes makes bad music choices and ignores my unbelievably great ideas, he does his job better than anyone else could.” Ian’s also well known for manning the upper school Facebook page. Senior Alden Sulger said, “[Ian’s] cheesy jokes on Facebook under the pseudonym ‘Rodent Gov’ always bring a smile to my face.” Although Ian’s tried to keep Rodent Gov’s identity a secret, every student recognizes how much time and effort he puts into keeping the Latin community updated via laugh-out-loud-worthy postings on Facebook. Staying inclusive, Ian makes sure to post not only about huge sports games and plays, but about senior nights, service opportunities, and student accomplishments. Everyone can always count on Rodent Gov for a laugh and timely updates. Not only is Ian active through his Rodent Gov Facebook account, but Ian has also made gathering an inclusive time of day that everyone looks forwards to. This sense of inclusivity can not only be attribute to the music, but also the sense of community that Ian has helped foster. One of his senior classmates said, “I love coming to gathering every morning because Ian is such a warm, smiling, part of my day. He is so nice to everyone and takes an active role including people in all friend groups.” Besides being a star on stage, Ian excels on the ice, the lacrosse field, as a leader of Latin’s Best Buddies chapter, and as a tour guide for Latin. As a Roman Ambassador, Ian has led tours for prospective students and their parents. Whenever you see Ian with a tour group, he’s always full of smiles, and his tour group is always entranced by his energy and abundance of knowledge about Latin. After Ian concluded a tour earlier this year, a prospective parent said, “I hope my son can graduate from Latin and be as well spoken, outgoing, and charismatic as the young man who lead our tour.” I reached out to one last person that arguably knows Ian the best of anyone in the auditorium, his sister. Caroline Cummins’ message to him was, “Although you may do some embarrassing stuff up there sometimes… you never cease to make everyone laugh and lighten the mood. I’m so proud of you and cannot believe you won’t be up there next year. Much Love.”]]>