coronavirus

Photos: Graduating in the Age of the Coronavirus

A high school in Georgia’s socially distanced gradation. Photo: Brynn Anderson/AP/Shutterstock

In Texas, dozens of high schools are holding socially distanced graduation ceremonies on a massive NASCAR track. In Alabama, one high school put on a “red carpet drive-through.” In New Hampshire, students are receiving their diplomas while riding a ski lift.

All across the country, the class of 2020 is participating in virtual ceremonies and taking graduation photos on their front lawns as school administrators attempt to balance the desire to celebrate students with the responsibility to keep them safe. Here are some photos of how students are graduating during a global pandemic.

Texas Motor Speedway is hosting 30 socially distanced high-school graduation ceremonies over the next few weeks, with students sitting on the track and family parked on the infield watching the ceremony on the track’s massive “Big Hoss” TV screen. Photo: Tony Gutierrez/AP/Shutterstock
A high-school graduation at Phoenix Raceway. Photo: Ross D Franklin/AP/Shutterstock
A principal records his graduation speech, to be used later in a virtual ceremony, in an empty football stadium. Photo: Keith Birmingham/MediaNews Group/Pasadena Star-News via Getty Images
Maria Morales graduates from USC while at home. Photo: Brian van der Brug/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
James Madison high school in the Brooklyn celebrates graduating seniors. Photo: Timothy Fadek/Redux
Yasmine Protho wears a photo of herself on her mask as she graduates from a Georgia high school with nine other classmates. Photo: Brynn Anderson/AP/Shutterstock
Graduation photos in the time of the coronavirus. Photo: Mark J Terrill/AP/Shutterstock
Texas high-school students paraded through neighborhood streets after graduation. Photo: Tony Gutierrez/AP/Shutterstock
Graduating Masters students from the Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation. Photo: Andrew Kelly/REUTERS
Photos: Graduating in the Time of the Coronavirus