HARRISONBURG, Va. — Being humble in the face of adversity and joy intertwined two alumni honored on Oct. 16 at Eastern Mennonite University. Family members of Glen Lapp and Leymah Gbowee take photos after the celebration of Eastern Mennonite University’s Alumna of the Year and Distinguished Service awards Oct. 16. — Photo by Jon Styer/EMU Honored were Leymah Gbo­wee, co-winner of the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize, and Glen Lapp, who was killed in Afghanistan in 2010 while serving with Mennonite Central Committee.“From the moment I was announced as one of the core recipients of the Nobel Peace Prize, every night and morning I say my prayers [and] I ask, ‘Lord, keep me humble,’ ” said Gbowee, a master’s degree graduate in conflict transformation who was honored as Alumna of the Year. “By being humble I hope to touch more lives and can be an example for the next generation of peacebuilders.”In an EMU publication, a former supervisor said Lapp was “the ideal nurse, very self-contained and capable, as well as extremely compassionate — and above all, humble about it.”Lapp, who was killed on Aug. 5, 2010, with nine others on an International Assistance Mission team in Afghanistan, received the Distinguished Service Award. It was the first time EMU has given an alumni award posthumously. Lapp’s parents, Marvin and Mary Lapp of Lancaster, Pa., and other family members accepted the award on his behalf.Letting go of angerGbowee said she will continue to pray for God’s grace to stay humble amid media coverage and requests for interviews. “As a peacebuilder we can never hold onto anger,” Gbowee said. “My journey has taken me many places. I have seen many things to make me angry and break my heart, but as I step from one place to another I see that if we must change our communities, change the world, [then] anger, pain and thoughts of evil cannot be a part of our mindset.”Gbowee completed a master’s degree in conflict transformation in 2007.