I was recently honored by Cape Breton University/Canadian International College at their Convocation for the Class of 2010. It was a beautiful event hosted at the Fairmont Towers in Cairo. Dr. Ken MacLeod, Ph.D. the Director of International Programs and Partnerships at Cape Breton University, and I were recipients of the CBU Special Award for our dedication to ours careers and our service as role models in our fields. I was very grateful to be recognized for my contributions to Egyptology and was moved by the kind words of Dr. John Harker, CBU President and Dr. Magdy El-Kady, CIC President. 

The real award winners of the evening however were the 150 graduates who were celebrating the completion of their four year degrees. To them I addressed this speech: 

"Ladies & Gentlemen, professors of CIC, graduates of class 2010:

Before I say my few words, I would like to say to the class of 2010 congratulations, and l am honoured tonight to come to this university’s event. Before I begin my speech, I would like to tell you that my job is not only making major discoveries, but also to have some fun.

I will tell you a story that happened to me few years ago. My office is next to the Great Pyramid in Giza. One day, an American young man came to see me, and he asked me if he can see my bathroom. I told him, “Sure. Go see my bathroom.” He came back and asked if he can take a photo of my bathroom. I asked why and he told me, “Everyone all over the world thinks that at 12 noon you leave your office, you go to the bathroom, and leave from a secret tunnel that leads from your bathroom to the Great Pyramids, hide things there and come back. I asked him if he saw any tunnels in my bathroom and he said, “no.” I asked him, “what are you going to do with this photo?” He told me that he’s going to publish it on the internet. Therefore, if you want to see my bathroom, just go on to www.hawasbathroom.com.

For the last few years, we have been going on adventures in archaeology. We are excavating now in the Valley of the Kings, trying to discover tomb number 64 as the first Egyptian expedition to work in the Valley of the Kings. We revealed the tunnel in the tomb city the first, a great adventure for three years until we reached 174 meters in the mountains. Later on in this coming month, we are going to send a robot inside the tunnel in the great pyramid to look for what is hidden behind the secret doors inside the pyramids. We are searching for the tomb of Cleopatra and Mark Anthony. Can you believe this moment? You enter this tomb and look at this beautiful queen that captured the hearts of the two most powerful men on Earth, Caesar & Mark Anthony.

We have been using technology in archaeology: CAT scan machines and DNA to reveal the secrets of the mummies. If you sent a mummy into the CAT scan machine, it tells you lots of important secrets. We discovered the mummy of Hatshepsut, we revealed the family of King Tut, we found the mummy of his father, the mummy of his grandmother, the mummy of his mother, and we are actually revealing now the mummy of Ankhis Amon, the wife of King Tut and her mother, Queen Nefertiti.

That’s really what I call an adventure in archaeology. The time when you enter inside the tomb and you hold in your hand a statue that dated back to 4000 years ago. This statue can reconstruct history, and that’s really what we’re doing.

Before I end my speech, I want to give you a piece of advice. Before you start your career and meet new people in your life, you have to remember this story: When I was 16 years old, I wanted to be a lawyer. I used to see Kamal El-Shenawy wearing a white suit and [driving] a red car, I told myself I want to be like him, so I went to the faculty of law in
Alexandria, and I bought the books on the first day. Then I went to the dorm and started reading the books, but I could not understand anything. I told myself there is no way I can like these books. I left the faculty of law and applied to the faculty of arts. I joined the archaeology department by accident. I had no dream to be an archaeologist. Actually I graduated by the age of 19, then I worked with the government in the antiques department. I looked at the people there and found that no one had any ambition, so I told myself I can’t be like those people – I have to leave. I tried to find any job other than archaeology, but I couldn’t. So I went back to the department. Later on, the head of the department sent me to do some excavations in the desert and I almost cried. How can I leave Cairo? How can I go and live in the desert?! I was really sad. One day, I was sitting in the tent, and the workman came to me and told me that they found a tomb. I went with the workman and found in the middle of the tomb a statue. Then the workman gave me a brush and I began to clean the statue. While I was cleaning the statue, I said to myself “I found my love”.

We can take from this story [a piece of] advice: If you like something, it’s not enough, if you love something it’s not enough but if you give your passion to anything, you make it big. Thank you."