US-HEALTH-VIRUS-EDUCATION-GRADUATION

Student Wincent Williams (2-L) poses for a picture with family members outside Bradley-Bourbonnais Community High School after picking up his diploma during a graduation ceremony on May 6, 2020 in Bradley, Illinois. - A speech by Barack Obama, a photo finish at Daytona, or a wild, livestreamed party in the family living room? Americans are dreaming up creative ways to celebrate their graduates, deprived of traditional diploma ceremonies by the coronavirus pandemic.High school and university graduation ceremonies are much-anticipated rites of passage in the United States, almost "as important as weddings or births," says 29-year-old Trent Johnson. So when, after four years of medical school, he received an email telling him that his university, Ohio State, was cancelling the ceremony because of the pandemic, he was overwhelmed. (Photo by KAMIL KRZACZYNSKI / AFP) (Photo by KAMIL KRZACZYNSKI/AFP via Getty Images)