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美国哥伦比亚大学一名52岁的清洁工上周日与其他同学一起参加毕业典礼，正式获得该校古典文学学士学位。据悉，这名清洁工名叫菲利帕奇，1992年从前南斯拉夫来到纽约，去美国之前曾经就读于贝尔格莱德的法学院。因哥伦比亚大学规定全职雇员可以免费听课，菲利帕奇在19年间完成了基础的语言课程和古典文学的所有课程。他每天上午上课，下午2点半到晚上11点完成清洁工作，然后继续熬夜学习。每逢考试或学期论文，他还得熬通宵看书，天亮以后接着去上课。菲利帕奇表示，他下一步的理想是获得罗马和希腊古典文学的硕士和博士学位，希望能够以后能当老师，教书的同时把他喜欢的古典文学作品翻译成自己的母语－阿尔巴尼亚语。 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. "I love Seneca's letters because they're written in the spirit in which I was educated in my family — not to look for fame and fortune, but to have a simple, honest, honorable life," he said. | 
