Janitor Works 20 Years To Earn Columbia Classics Degree For Free

Christopher Robbins

Published May 8, 2012

Modified May 8, 2012

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Christopher Robbins

Published May 8, 2012

Modified May 8, 2012

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An immigrant from the former Yugoslavia who has worked as a janitor for Columbia University for 20 years has finally earned his bachelor's degree in classics, with honors. The Daily News reports that while you were concerned with catching up on Boardwalk Empire and content to remain in the same, midlevel job because "the economy just isn't right yet," Gac Filipaj toiled day and night, first taking classes to learn English then courses in the classics department at the Ivy League university. "Only half my dream come true," Filipaj says, with an earnestness that kills a million photos of cats drawn in steamed milk. "Today, one ought to have a master's or a Ph.D."

Filipaj took advantage of Columbia's tuition benefit for its employees and took classes in the morning then cleaned the school from 2:30 to 11 p.m., hitting the books right around when you usually finished your last jalepeno popper and drained a BL Lime at trivia night at some bar whose name you'll forget in 8 months. "He just loves what he's learning," dean of students Phil Mendoza says.

"I think I'm going to stay at Columbia," Filipaj says of his future. The janitor took two days vacation to celebrate his achievement, which is the same amount of time you took off to "recuperate" from your eight-day trip to Cabo. "If I can get a job better than cleaning, good. If not, there is nothing shameful about that work."

As for whether his story is unique, Filipaj seems sheepish.“If my story and the fact at this age I am graduating helps people to think about getting an education, it’s for a good cause."

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columbia university

dreams come true

hard work

heartwarming stories

Christopher Robbins

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Christopher Robbins is a New York City reporter covering transportation, affordable housing, local politics, and criminal justice. His work has also appeared in New York Magazine, The Village Voice and The New York Times. Chris is a graduate of Patrick Henry High School in Roanoke, Virginia, and enjoys biking to Fort Tilden in the summertime.

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