Janitor Smartest Guy at Columbia U?

Congratulations go out to one Gac Filipaj on his graduation this past weekend.

Gac Filipaj celebrates his graduation from Columbia
University. Photo by Mariela Lombard for the N.Y. Daily News.

Yeah, you probably never heard of Filpaj, but he's worth an introduction. The immigrant from the former Yugoslavia is a custodian at Columbia University. The university offers free classes to most of its employees, so Filipaj went for it.

He'd take classes in his off hours, study overnight, then spend the day cleaning up the mess younger students made on campus while Filipaj was hitting the books.

It took him 12 years, and countless all nighters studying and working, but he was determined. And he did it, which is quite a lesson for all of us who say the task at hand, whatever it might be, is too hard.
Filipaj graduated with honors, winning a bachelor's degree in classics. He says' he'll next pursue a Master's or maybe a Ph.D in Roman or Greek classics.

After the graduation ceremony, Filpaj went back to work, cleaning up parts of the campus, yet again.