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Jamie Neal, an MDiv/MACEF dual-degree student and President’s Fellow, admits that her journey at Princeton Theological Seminary started off slowly and roughly. Navigating a new academic environment—with its unfamiliar classroom dynamics, the pressure of starting something new, and the range of diverse perspectives—made it challenging to find her footing.
By her second year—completed earlier this summer—things began to shift. A church internship, hands-on ministry, and the opportunity to apply classroom lessons in a real-world context changed her experience for the better.
“It’s challenging still to this day,” Neal says “But it’s a beautiful challenge.”
While she’s no stranger to diverse communities, the breadth of faith perspectives at Princeton Theological Seminary initially surprised her. As a Pentecostal at a Presbyterian seminary representing more than 60 faith traditions, Neal quickly realized how different her background was from that of many of her peers.
“You realize that, as a Pentecostal, you’re a minority in a sense in this community,” she says, “but you also start to see the bigger picture—the love, the mission, and the journey we’re all on to find truth and to witness that truth to the people we encounter.”
She adds,
I’m still rooted in my Pentecostal faith and tradition, but I’m also gracious enough and willing to lean in, to listen, and to learn from other people.
Neal says there’s something sacred in every tradition and part of the work is discerning what’s sacred and right, while letting go of what isn’t pleasing to God.
“We’re searching for truth,” she says. “We’re searching for how to please God with our lives, with our worship, with our daily acts. Having a diverse setting like Princeton Seminary is essential because it allows aspiring ministers to engage with different faith traditions.”
That sense of engagement deepened during her field education at Doylestown Presbyterian Church in Doylestown, Pennsylvania. As an intern, she assisted with worship each Sunday and was involved in nearly every aspect of ministry. She now serves as the interim youth director while continuing to support Sunday worship.
“It’s just a beautiful thing,” she says. “As they give me Presbyterian, I give them a little dash of Pentecostal. We’ve created an ecumenical environment in the church. It’s really been a blessing to me and the congregation.”
Timing made the experience even more meaningful. The church was in a leadership transition, led by an interim head pastor and actively searching for a new one. That liminal space gave Neal the opportunity to connect with people navigating uncertainty and change.
It’s really been a full ministry experience that I couldn’t have asked for in any other place,” she says. “Just the ability to be there, to observe, to listen, and to learn. It really did a work in me, and I’m better for it.
That attentiveness—listening, learning, caring—will serve her well as she transitions into full-time ministry. Neal is preparing for a career in military chaplaincy, where change is constant.
“As a minister intern, I got a first glimpse of what people feel when they’re about to go through a transition phase,” she says. “It put me in their shoes, and I’m able to see it from both sides and tend to that with gentleness and care.”
As a President’s Fellow, Neal has had the chance to reflect, represent, and grow even more. She’s welcomed guests, shared stories, built professional connections, and served as a Seminary ambassador.
One moment that stood out was a formal dinner at Springdale with trustees and fellows.
There, a strong-willed attendee shared that her faith remains central in her life, including business. That left an impression.
“It gives hope that you can be in any big industry and still keep God at the center,” Neal says. “When so much of society says it’s either this or God, and you can’t mix faith and work, she says otherwise.”
Neal’s path to ministry hasn’t been linear. After serving in the United States Marine Corps for more than eight years, she felt called by God to leave. She pursued ministry outside of the military and eventually came to Princeton. An encounter with President Walton—who learned about her military background—planted a new seed: chaplaincy. At least a dozen others affirmed the same calling.
Neal is now a Navy Chaplain Candidate Program Officer, already commissioned and currently training with the Navy during summers. That training gives her a head start on officer development school, chaplaincy school, and on-the-job experience before she graduates in May 2027.
After graduation, she hopes to move into full-time active duty as a military chaplain—a role that allows her to bring the gospel into spaces not open to civilian ministers.
“As a minister of a church, you can’t step onto these military bases and minister to people,” she says. “But I can. I’ll be able to travel and step into those hard places that only a small percentage of Americans can reach because they’re in the military.”
Still, Neal doesn’t see the work as her own. Her calling, her ability, her presence, it all points back to God.
“I can’t help people without God,” she says. “Nothing I do is sufficient without Him.”
Years of experience and reflection have taught Neal the importance of surrendering her plans to God’s will. That humility continues to shape her life, ministry, and vision.
“At the end of this journey we call life, all we’re going to have is God,” Neal says. “I’m nothing without God. So ultimately, it’s not about me, it’s about God’s work through me. When someone thanks me for a great sermon, I say, ‘Thank God,’ because He’s the one who gave me the word to give to you today. It’s a humility of hearts.”
