My Favorite NMMI Tradition: Silver Taps
By: Cadet Jose Robles
Being a RAT means to be a recruit-at-training. It means learning. It means being a follower so you can then be a leader. It means to integrate and become part of the NMMI Corps of Cadets. It means to become part of this family. Before coming to NMMI, you should know three tips that will help you make your life as a RAT easier.
The first tip I would give a RAT is to start practicing their listening skills while they are still home. Here at NMMI, the cadets, faculty, and staff teach many things to the incoming new cadets that would not only serve them in their stay here at the Institute, but also outside in the real world. We teach them discipline, time management, mentorship, respect, and many other moral values that forge a real leader. For all these lessons, RATs need to practice their listening skills in order for them to execute what we taught them.
The second tip I would give a RAT is to start training physically and mentally. Here at the New Mexico Military Institute, we receive challenging academics and physical training that help us be better intellectually and physically. RATs must be ready to meet these challenges and succeed here at NMMI.
The third tip I would give a RAT is to be clean and to start making your bed every morning. Here at the Institute, we have daily routine inspections that are conducted by the cadets, and we inspect the cleanliness of each room. We cadets are always required to have a room presentable; which includes making the bed every day with hospital corners and cleaning windows and mirrors. This is something that would save RATs a lot of time if they already have the habit of cleaning their room and making their bed every morning. This also teaches cadets time management and how to be clean.
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