What class! Columbia University janitor graduates with honors [View all]

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What class! Columbia University janitor graduates with honors
By VERENA DOBNIK
Last Updated: 5:12 PM, May 13, 2012



Class act: Surrounded by fresh-faced youngsters, Columbia University janitor Gac Filipaj give a thumbs up during a graduation ceremony today. The 52-year-old Albanian studied for 12 years to obtain his bachelor's in classics.

For years, Gac Filipaj mopped floors, cleaned toilets and took out trash at Columbia University.

A refugee from war-torn Yugoslavia, he eked out a living working for the Ivy League school. But Sunday was payback time: The 52-year-old janitor donned a cap and gown to graduate with a bachelor's degree in classics.

As a Columbia employee, he didn't have to pay for the classes he took. His favorite subject was the Roman philosopher and statesman Seneca, the janitor said during a break from his work at Lerner Hall, the student union building he cleans.

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