{"id":5076,"date":"2012-05-20T04:00:00","date_gmt":"2012-05-20T04:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/192.168.195.175\/index.php\/2012\/05\/20\/columbia-university-janitor-graduates-with-honors-at-52-years-young\/"},"modified":"2012-05-20T04:00:00","modified_gmt":"2012-05-20T04:00:00","slug":"columbia-university-janitor-graduates-with-honors-at-52-years-young","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.goodworldnews.org\/index.php\/2012\/05\/20\/columbia-university-janitor-graduates-with-honors-at-52-years-young\/","title":{"rendered":"Columbia University janitor graduates with honors at 52 years young"},"content":{"rendered":"<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" size-full wp-image-5075\" src=\"http:\/\/192.168.195.175\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/9ded0288e863fbe79d863f606cb05c21.jpg\" alt=\"Credit: AP\" class=\"caption\" title=\"Columbia University janitor Gac Filipaj, center, is congratulated by his boss, Donald Schlosser, the assistant vice president of facility operations\" width=\"468\" height=\"312\" \/>\n<p style=\"min-height: 1px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: left; padding: 0px; margin: 0px;\"><span style=\"font-size: 1.2em;\">For years, Gac Filipaj mopped floors, cleaned toilets and took out trash at Columbia University.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"min-height: 1px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: left; padding: 0px; margin: 0px;\"><span style=\"font-size: 1.2em;\">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&#8217;s degree in classics.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"min-height: 1px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: left; padding: 0px; margin: 0px;\"><span style=\"font-size: 1.2em;\">As a Columbia employee, he didn&#8217;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.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: left;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"min-height: 1px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: left; padding: 0px; margin: 0px;\"><span style=\"font-size: 1.2em;\">&#8216;I love Seneca&#8217;s letters because they&#8217;re written in the spirit in which I was educated in my family &#8212; not to look for fame and fortune, but to have a simple, honest, honorable life,&#8217; he said.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"min-height: 1px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: left; padding: 0px; margin: 0px;\"><span style=\"font-size: 1.2em;\">His graduation with honors capped a dozen years of studies, including readings in ancient Latin and Greek.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"min-height: 1px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: left; padding: 0px; margin: 0px;\"><span style=\"font-size: 1.2em;\">&#8216;This is a man with great pride, whether he&#8217;s doing custodial work or academics,&#8217; said Peter Awn, dean of Columbia&#8217;s School of General Studies and professor of Islamic studies. &#8216;He is immensely humble and grateful, but he&#8217;s one individual who makes his own future.&#8217;<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"clear\" style=\"min-height: 0px !important; clear: both; width: auto; height: 0px !important; line-height: 0 !important; font-size: 0px !important; float: none !important; border-style: initial !important; border-color: initial !important; border-image: initial !important; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: left; border-width: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important; margin: 0px;\">\u00a0<\/div>\n<div id=\"ext-gen1590\" class=\"thinCenter\" style=\"min-height: 1px; width: 470px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: left; padding: 0px; margin: 0px auto 0px auto;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"blkBorder\" style=\"padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 1px initial initial;\" src=\"http:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/i\/pix\/2012\/05\/14\/article-0-13123091000005DC-486_468x323.jpg\" alt=\"Gac Filipaj flashed a huge smile after getting a handshake from Columbia University President Lee Bollinger during the graduation ceremony.\" width=\"468\" height=\"323\" border=\"0\" \/> <\/p>\n<p class=\"imageCaption\" style=\"min-height: 1px; padding: 0px; margin: 0px;\">Jubilant: Gac Filipaj flashed a huge smile after getting a handshake from Columbia University President Lee Bollinger during the graduation ceremony<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p style=\"min-height: 1px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: left; padding: 0px; margin: 0px;\">\u00a0<\/p>\n<div class=\"clear\" style=\"min-height: 0px !important; clear: both; width: auto; height: 0px !important; line-height: 0 !important; font-size: 0px !important; float: none !important; border-style: initial !important; border-color: initial !important; border-image: initial !important; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: left; border-width: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important; margin: 0px;\">\u00a0<\/div>\n<div id=\"ext-gen1598\" class=\"thinCenter\" style=\"min-height: 1px; width: 470px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: left; padding: 0px; margin: 0px auto 0px auto;\">\n<p style=\"min-height: 1px; padding: 0px; margin: 0px;\"><span style=\"font-size: 1.2em;\">Filipaj was accepted at Columbia after first learning English; his mother tongue is Albanian.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"min-height: 1px; padding: 0px; margin: 0px;\"><span style=\"font-size: 1.2em;\">For Filipaj, the degree comes after years of studying late into the night in his Bronx apartment, where he&#8217;d open his books after a 2:30-11 p.m. shift as a &#8216;heavy cleaner&#8217; &#8212; his job title. Before exam time or to finish a paper, he&#8217;d pull all-nighters, then go to class in the morning and then to work.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"min-height: 1px; padding: 0px; margin: 0px;\"><span style=\"font-size: 1.2em;\">On Sunday morning in the sun-drenched grassy quad of Columbia&#8217;s Manhattan campus, Filipaj flashed a huge smile and a thumbs-up as he walked off the podium after a handshake from Columbia President Lee Bollinger.<\/span><\/p>\n<p> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"blkBorder\" style=\"padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 1px initial initial;\" src=\"http:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/i\/pix\/2012\/05\/14\/article-0-13122B46000005DC-380_468x294.jpg\" alt=\"Most of the students in Filipaj's graduating class were in their 20s.\" width=\"468\" height=\"294\" border=\"0\" \/> <\/p>\n<p class=\"imageCaption\" style=\"min-height: 1px; padding: 0px; margin: 0px;\">Class act: Most of the students in Filipaj&#8217;s graduating class were in their 20s<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p style=\"min-height: 1px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: left; padding: 0px; margin: 0px;\"><span style=\"font-size: 1.2em;\">Later, Filipaj got a big hug from his boss, Donald Schlosser, Columbia&#8217;s assistant vice president for campus operations.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"min-height: 1px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: left; padding: 0px; margin: 0px;\"><span style=\"font-size: 1.2em;\">Bollinger presided over a ceremony in which General Studies students received their graduation certificates. They also can attend Wednesday&#8217;s commencement of all Columbia graduates, most of whom are in their 20s.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"min-height: 1px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: left; padding: 0px; margin: 0px;\"><span style=\"font-size: 1.2em;\">Filipaj wasn&#8217;t much older in 1992 when he left Montenegro, then a Yugoslav republic facing a brutal civil war.<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"clear\" style=\"min-height: 0px !important; clear: both; width: auto; height: 0px !important; line-height: 0 !important; font-size: 0px !important; float: none !important; border-style: initial !important; border-color: initial !important; border-image: initial !important; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: left; border-width: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important; margin: 0px;\">\u00a0<\/div>\n<div id=\"ext-gen1603\" class=\"thinCenter\" style=\"min-height: 1px; width: 470px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: left; padding: 0px; margin: 0px auto 0px auto;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"blkBorder\" style=\"padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 1px initial initial;\" src=\"http:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/i\/pix\/2012\/05\/14\/article-0-13129F8D000005DC-5_468x299.jpg\" alt=\"Gac Filipaj finally received his bachelor's degree in classics after 12 years of balancing studies and his full-time\" width=\"468\" height=\"299\" border=\"0\" \/> <\/p>\n<p class=\"imageCaption\" style=\"min-height: 1px; padding: 0px; margin: 0px;\">Hardworking: Gac Filipaj finally received his bachelor&#8217;s degree in classics after 12 years of balancing studies and his full-time<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p style=\"min-height: 1px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: left; padding: 0px; margin: 0px;\"><span style=\"font-size: 1.2em;\">An ethnic Albanian and Roman Catholic, he left his family farm in the tiny village of Donja Klezna outside the city of Ulcinj because he was about to be drafted into the Yugoslav army led by Serbs, who considered many Albanians their enemy.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"min-height: 1px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: left; padding: 0px; margin: 0px;\"><span style=\"font-size: 1.2em;\">He fled after almost finishing law school in Belgrade, Yugoslavia&#8217;s capital, where he commuted for years by train from Montenegro.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"min-height: 1px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: left; padding: 0px; margin: 0px;\"><span style=\"font-size: 1.2em;\">At first in New York, his uncle in the Bronx offered him shelter while he worked as a restaurant busboy.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"min-height: 1px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: left; padding: 0px; margin: 0px;\"><span style=\"font-size: 1.2em;\">&#8216;I asked people, which are the best schools in New York?&#8217; he says. Since Columbia topped his list, &#8216;I went there to see if I could get a job.&#8217;<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"min-height: 1px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: left; padding: 0px; margin: 0px;\"><span style=\"font-size: 1.2em;\">Part of his $22-an-hour janitor&#8217;s pay still goes back to his brother, sister-in-law and two kids in Montenegro. Filipaj has no computer, but he bought one for the family, whose income comes mostly from selling milk.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"min-height: 1px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: left; padding: 0px; margin: 0px;\"><span style=\"font-size: 1.2em;\">Filipaj also saves by not paying for a cellphone; he can only be reached via landline.<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"clear\" style=\"min-height: 0px !important; clear: both; width: auto; height: 0px !important; line-height: 0 !important; font-size: 0px !important; float: none !important; border-style: initial !important; border-color: initial !important; border-image: initial !important; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: left; border-width: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important; margin: 0px;\">\u00a0<\/div>\n<div id=\"ext-gen1608\" class=\"thinCenter\" style=\"min-height: 1px; width: 470px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: left; padding: 0px; margin: 0px auto 0px auto;\">\u00a0<\/div>\n<p style=\"min-height: 1px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: left; padding: 0px; margin: 0px;\"><span style=\"font-size: 1.2em;\">He wishes his father were alive to enjoy his achievement. The elder Filipaj died in April, and the son flew over for the funeral, returning three days later for work and classes.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"min-height: 1px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: left; padding: 0px; margin: 0px;\"><span style=\"font-size: 1.2em;\">To relax at home, he enjoys an occasional cigarette and some &#8220;grappa&#8221; brandy.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"min-height: 1px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: left; padding: 0px; margin: 0px;\"><span style=\"font-size: 1.2em;\">&#8216;And if I have too much, I just go to sleep,&#8217; he says, laughing.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"min-height: 1px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: left; padding: 0px; margin: 0px;\"><span style=\"font-size: 1.2em;\">During an interview with The Associated Press in a Lerner Hall conference room, Filipaj didn&#8217;t show the slightest regret or bitterness about his tough life. Instead, he cheerfully described encounters with surprised younger students who wonder why their classmate is cleaning up after them.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"min-height: 1px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: left; padding: 0px; margin: 0px;\"><span style=\"font-size: 1.2em;\">&#8216;They say, &#8216;Aren&#8217;t you&#8230;?&#8221; he said with a grin.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"min-height: 1px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: left; padding: 0px; margin: 0px;\"><span style=\"font-size: 1.2em;\">His ambition is to get a master&#8217;s degree, maybe even a Ph.D., in Roman and Greek classics. Someday, he hopes to become a teacher, while translating his favorite classics into Albanian.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"min-height: 1px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: left; padding: 0px; margin: 0px;\"><span style=\"font-size: 1.2em;\">For now, he&#8217;s trying to get &#8216;a better job,&#8217; maybe as supervisor of custodians or something similar, at Columbia if possible.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"min-height: 1px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: left; padding: 0px; margin: 0px;\"><span style=\"font-size: 1.2em;\">He&#8217;s not interested in furthering his studies to make more money.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"min-height: 1px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: left; padding: 0px; margin: 0px;\"><span style=\"font-size: 1.2em;\">&#8216;The richness is in me, in my heart and in my head, not in my pockets,&#8217; said Filipaj, who is now an American citizen.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"min-height: 1px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: left; padding: 0px; margin: 0px;\"><span style=\"font-size: 1.2em;\">Soon after, the feisty, 5-foot-4 janitor picked up a broom and dustpan and went back to work.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: left;\"><\/p>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"border-image: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; padding: 0px; margin: 0.5em 0px 0.5em 0px; border: 0px initial initial;\"><span style=\"color: #444444; font-family: Arvo, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;\"><span style=\"line-height: 23px;\">Associated<\/span><\/span><span style=\"color: #444444; font-family: Arvo, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 23px;\"> Press. &#8220;Columbia University janitor swaps his jumpsuit for cap and gown to graduate with honors&#8221;. DailyMail.co.uk . 14 May 2012. Web.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"border-image: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; color: #444444; font-family: Arvo, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 23px; padding: 0px; margin: 0.5em 0px 0.5em 0px; border: 0px initial initial;\">View original article at dailymail.co.uk:<\/p>\n<p style=\"border-image: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; color: #444444; font-family: Arvo, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 23px; padding: 0px; margin: 0.5em 0px 0.5em 0px; border: 0px initial initial;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/news\/article-2144043\/Columbia-University-janitor-Gac-Filipaj-swaps-jumpsuit-cap-gown-graduate-honors.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">http:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/news\/article-2144043\/Columbia-University-janitor-Gac-Filipaj-swaps-jumpsuit-cap-gown-graduate-honors.html<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>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&#8217;s degree<span class=\"more-link\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.goodworldnews.org\/index.php\/2012\/05\/20\/columbia-university-janitor-graduates-with-honors-at-52-years-young\/\">Continue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":45,"featured_media":5075,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2864],"tags":[2989],"class_list":["entry","author-gwn_info","post-5076","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-lifestyle","tag-education"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Columbia University janitor graduates with honors at 52 years young - Good World News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.goodworldnews.org\/index.php\/2012\/05\/20\/columbia-university-janitor-graduates-with-honors-at-52-years-young\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Columbia University janitor graduates with honors at 52 years young - Good World News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"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. 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