Janitor Graduates from Columbia After 19 Years

The Takeaway
In the early 1990s when Yugoslavia was being torn apart by civil war, Gac Filipaj decided to get out. He fled to New York City and became a custodian at Columbia University, knowing it was the best higher-education institution around. After learning some English, Filipaj began taking morning classes before his 8-hour janitorial shifts afternoon. And this real-life "Good Will Hunting" story has a happy ending: after 19 years as a student and a janitor, Filipaj has graduated at the top of his class with a major in Classics.
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