At the end of the academic year, the Office of Religious Life (ORL) hosts Student Recognition Sunday. A longstanding tradition where students who have been heavily involved in the ORL throughout their Princeton experience receive awards for their efforts.

Although many awards are given to students during this service, there is one award, the Rev. Dr. Joseph Williamson Sermon Award; that gives the winner an opportunity to preach at the pulpit of the University Chapel in front of fellow students and members of the wider Princeton community, a task that usually falls to the Deans of Religious Life, the President of the University, and guest preachers. 

This year the winner of the Rev. Dr. Joseph Williamson Sermon Award is Amaya Dressler ‘25 an Anthropology major (on the Medical Anthropology Track) from Pennsylvania. Dressler is no stranger to the ORL as she is an active member in the Religious Life Council, Princeton Christian Fellowship, and a small group leader for Princeton Presbyterians. 

I sat down with Dressler as we discussed her sermon, the inspiration behind it, and closing out her undergraduate experience here at Princeton with a once in a lifetime opportunity.

JW: How were you involved with the ORL throughout your Princeton Experience?

AD: I Joined the RLC my Junior year and that was one of my favorite experiences throughout Princeton. Some of the people I met there are now my closest friends. Before that I was a part of a couple of religious groups like Princeton Christian Fellowship and Princeton Presbyterians. 

JW: What inspired you to apply to the competition?

AD: I was actually giving my senior testimony for Princeton Presbyterians the same week that the competition was taking place. One of the chaplains there, Len (Scales) told me that the ORL was having this sermon competition. I figured ‘Oh I might as well submit it.’ 

JW: Where did your inspiration for your sermon come from?

AD: This year for Lent I decided to do something different. Previously I had always tried to give something up, and I thought I was really good at that—I love the competition part of it. But I also realized that's not the point of Lent, being in competition with yourself. So this year I want to get more involved with my community, and I thought that a good way to do so would be to smile at every single human that I saw. I quickly realized that it was impossible and that I wouldn't be able to do it, but thinking about that led me to question, “ok, why can’t I smile at everyone, every human I look at? What stops me from doing that?” That's kinda what my starting point was. 

JW: You’re a graduating senior, how does it feel to close out your Princeton Undergraduate experience by preaching this sermon at the chapel?

AD:  It’s very surreal because I remember my first time being at the chapel for opening exercises. I just remember being blown away. I felt like I’d never seen such a beautiful building but even then I would just go in there whenever I needed to calm down or relax. It's such a hallmark of being at Princeton… and to preach a sermon about friendship and how we can engage more in community feels really meaningful to me. 

JW: What about the Text you chose to base your sermon off of made you go.. I need to write a sermon about this?  

AD: So traditionally when Lent ends in my tradition (Presbyterian) we look at The Book of Acts to see what wisdom we can get as we go out into the world proclaiming that Christ has risen. And what really stuck out to me about chapter 8 is that there is this eunuch who has travelled thousands of miles to get to the temple in Jerusalem, but then when he gets there we can insinuate that he was never actually allowed to worship in the spot where he might have wanted to worship. So I was thinking about what it must feel like to travel all that way and to be rejected—but then someone show up out of nowhere who looks nothing like you, who acts nothing like you, probably doesn't speak the same language … but he just comes in and tries to tell you ‘No but here’s a reason to rejoice’ —how would I respond to that? 

JW:What do you hope that people take from your sermon?

AD: I hope that they remember to reach out to others,even when it feels scary. I think because Princeton is such an academic place it’s very easy to isolate yourself when you want to. And it takes an active, conscious effort to reach out to people, and I think there's a lot of value to reach out to people who you wouldn’t think that you might necessarily belong with—but doing so anyway. That's a huge step towards something beautiful and something relevant. That was my experience with the RLC where we’re all from different faiths or, in some cases, no faith at all.. Us talking about the same issues was some of the most insight I have ever gained during my time at Princeton. 

To listen to Amaya preach visit the 2025 Student Recognition Sunday Livestream on the ORL Youtube Channel.