After 29 years of teaching English, Amy Keys has acquired a large collection of exemplary student projects, some of which she continues to display in her classroom. Out of all of the items in her room, Keys identified her favorite as an incomplete suit of armor made by former student Matthew Peterson, Class of 2015, for an independent reading project .

The suit was inspired by the book “Johnny got his Gun” by Dalton Trumbo in which the main character participates in World War I, causing him to lose his arms, legs, and ability to speak, as represented by the missing limbs of the armor. However, the character retains the ability to think, leaving him trapped in his body, which is symbolized by the cage over the helmet.

“I was impressed that Matthew learned to weld specifically for this project,” Keys said.