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.

For Filipaj, the degree comes after years of studying late into the night in his Bronx apartment, where he'd open his books after a 2:30-11 p.m. shift as a "heavy cleaner" — his job title. Before exam time or to finish a paper, he'd pull all-nighters, then go to class in the morning and then to work.

美國哥倫比亞大學(xué)一名52歲的清潔工上周日與其他同學(xué)一起參加畢業(yè)典禮，正式獲得該校古典文學(xué)學(xué)士學(xué)位。據(jù)悉，這名清潔工名叫菲利帕奇，1992年從前南斯拉夫來到紐約，去美國之前曾經(jīng)就讀于貝爾格萊德的法學(xué)院。因哥倫比亞大學(xué)規(guī)定全職雇員可以免費聽課，菲利帕奇在19年間完成了基礎(chǔ)的語言課程和古典文學(xué)的所有課程。他每天上午上課，下午2點半到晚上11點完成清潔工作，然后繼續(xù)熬夜學(xué)習(xí)。每逢考試或?qū)W期論文，他還得熬通宵看書，天亮以后接著去上課。菲利帕奇表示，他下一步的理想是獲得羅馬和希臘古典文學(xué)的碩士和博士學(xué)位，希望能夠以后能當(dāng)老師，教書的同時把他喜歡的古典文學(xué)作品翻譯成自己的母語－阿爾巴尼亞語。