Izbeglica iz bivše Jugoslavije, godinama je jedva spajao kraj s krajem radeći kao čistač na Univerzitetu Kolumbija, gde je, između ostalog, prao toalete i izbacivao smeće. A onda je odlučio da iskoristi mogućnost i upiše fakultet, jer kao njihov zaposleni nije morao da plaća školarinu.

Omiljeni predmet bila mu je klasična filozofija, a filozof Seneka.
“Volim Senekina pisma jer su pisana u duhu u kom sam ja bio vaspitan u porodici – da ne tražim slavu i bogatstvo, već da vodim jednostavan, čestit i pošten život”, kaže Gac Filipaj, za koga dekan fakulteta i profesor islamistike Piter On kaže: „On je izuzetno skroman i prijatan, i jedna od onih osoba koja je sama kovač svoje sreće.”

Filipaj, čiji je maternji jezik albanski, primljen je na Univerzitet tek pošto jenaučio engleski. Crnu Goru napustio je 1992. godine, kada je u bivšoj Jugoslaviji izbio rat.

Za sobom je ostavio porodično imanje u malom selu Donja Klezna pored Ulcinja. Bio je pred kraj studija prava koje je studirao u Beogradu.
Kad je stigao u Njujork, stric, koji je živeo u Bronksu, pružio mu je prvi smeštaj.
Fakultet je završio tako što je godinama učio u svom stanu u Bronksu, kada uveče u 23 sata dođe s posla. Nije mu smetalo što su mu kolege s fakulteta uglavnom mladi ljudi.
Deo domarske plate, koja iznosi 22 dolara na sat, još uvek šalje bratu, snaji i njihovoj deci koji su ostali u Crnoj Gori.

Filipaj nema kompjuter, ali je kupio jedan rodbini koja uglavnom živi od prodaje mleka. Takođe, štedi i tako što ne koristi mobilni telefon, nego samo stabilni. Žao mu je što mu otac nije živ da vidi njegov uspeh.
U razgovoru za AP Filipaj kaže da ni za čim ne žali u životu. Ima ambiciju da dobije master diplomu iz starogrčke istorije ili antičkog Rima.
Za sada samo pokušava da pronađe „bolji posao”, možda da postane glavninadzornik nastojnika na Kolumbiji, ili nešto slično. Ne zanima ga da završi više škole radi novca.

„Bogatstvo je u meni, u mom srcu i glavi, a ne u džepovima”, kaže Filipaj, koji je u međuvremenu dobio i američko državljanstvo.

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CBS News correspondent Tony Guida reports Filipaj, 52, graduated from Columbia University Sunday. His diploma is a validation of a life-altering choice: books over blood.

Filipaj’s country of birth – Yugoslavia – was a killing field in 1992 with civil war, ethnic cleansing. Filipaj could either fight for a cause he did not believe in or flee.

He escaped to New York. He chose it not just as refuge but as renaissance.

“I am not blind. I look in the mirror and see myself. If god has not given me some nice appearance he has given me a head, has given me a heart and I can make myself better,” Filipaj said.

Filipaj started at the bottom, cleaning bathrooms. But these were Ivy League bathrooms. He chose a janitor’s job at Columbia University because it came with 14 free credit hours a year.

“I do believe that education, a good education, is very important not only for individuals themselves but for society as a whole,” Filipaj said.

First Filipaj had to learn English. With his fulltime job it took 7 years. Then he enrolled in Columbia’s classics program, studying Greek and Latin by day, scrubbing toilets by night.

“He is a remarkable human being,” said Gareth Williams, who supervised Filipaj’s thesis on the Roman philosopher Seneca.

The professor saw a man dedicated to knowledge.

“He would ask one question and then he would ask another question and a third question. His intellectual curiosity is very broad,” Williams said.

Another 12 years of work-study led to this moment, not just a crowning but also a passage. Filipaj plans to get a Masters, even a PhD. One day he hopes to teach.

“There is a saying that Seneca said: ‘While you teach, you learn,'” Filipaj said.

With 19 years of learning behind him, Gac Filipaj, 52, graduated from Columbia University on Sunday, with honors.