Miguel Gabriel Vazquez speaking remotely to NYC high school students in May.

We Are Not Your Soldiers presentations concluded for the spring semester of 2025 with visits to four schools, all in NYC, all public institutions of education:

• Joe Urgo spoke to two classes of students at a college.
• Shaniyat Turani-Chowdhury presented to three classes at a community college.
• Lyle Rubin spoke to students in two classes at another community college.
• Miguel Gabriel Vazquez presented via Zoom to four high school classes who had read The Things They Carried, a memoir by Vietnam veteran Tim O’Brien.

In this video clip from Lyle’s presentation, he speaks about how dehumanization is drilled during Marine boot camp.

Comments on our evaluation form following Lyle’s visit included the following:

• I liked that Lyle was very relatable and gave real life experiences that spoke of his time in the military. I was very aware of what Lyle was talking about. I served in the Navy for over four years and resonated with the events he spoke about.
• I liked that Lyle explained what he’d been through; speaking on the things that were so traumatizing is a strong thing to do and the fact that he did it was very good to hear.
• I liked how honest and straightforward Lyle was about the reality of our government and military. Something we don’t often get to consider is that maybe these other countries are just defending themselves and our government is the one spreading terror. Hearing directly from someone who had been in that lifestyle makes it much more credible.
• I liked how engaged the presenter was with the students and his patience answering questions.
• I liked how raw the information was; it felt different receiving a first-person account in contrast to reading an article about it or watching a movie.

Read a transcript of excerpts from Miguel’s presentation and replies to student questions here in “My Mexican Heart.”

We received thank you notes to Miguel from the high school students. Here are a few:

• Thank you for not being afraid of being vulnerable when talking about such traumatic experiences in order to truly educate us on morality.
• Thank you so much for sharing your experiences with us, especially experiences that are personal and difficult to express.
• Thank you for being brave and sharing your experiences. It opened up many perspectives.
• Thank you for showing us what we aren’t told. It was very eye-opening for us.