Regents was the obvious choice for my Masters...

Dave Newton interviews Nicole Le Goupillot, who studied at RTC

Tell us a bit about yourself
I’m currently living in Guernsey, and very much love island life (most of the time!). In a former life, I was a philosophy and ethics secondary school teacher, and this is a subject which I am still passionate about today. I joined Elim back in 1999 when studying at Leeds University and became an ordained minister in 2009.

I began my ministry at Dewsbury Elim and later moved to Delancey Elim in Guernsey, where I ministered as both assistant and senior pastor. The Dewsbury and Delancey congregations were just wonderful, and I couldn’t have wished for more fabulous families to be a part of.

I love reading, socialising, being out at sea on my fishing boat, a good period drama, travelling to new places, and all things cake-related.

Why did you come to Regents?
My journey with Regents started back in 2004 when I did my undergraduate degree in Applied Theology. I loved studying at Regents and really enjoyed my time there, so when it came to pursuing my Masters a few years ago, Regents was the obvious choice.

The set-up of the course and the modules offered were exactly what I wanted. From looking at areas such as Christian leadership to thinking about Pentecostal spirituality and theology, the diversity of subjects on offer actually made it hard to know which to choose!

Living in Guernsey could have proven a little tricky with attending the course, but the modules were put over two consecutive days at a time which made it doable, and the college was really accommodating.

There was also the added advantage that if you’d already studied theology, you could opt for an assignment-only module, which is a great option if time out to attend lectures is problematic or if you just have a particular topic of interest.

What helped you in your studies?
Many things helped me. Firstly, the tutors at Regents were fabulous – I thoroughly enjoyed the lectures and benefitted greatly from the knowledge and expertise of each one. I was able to contact them for help, and I never felt I was just there making up numbers – you are known by the college staff, and the tutors make time for you.

When you begin working on your final dissertation, Regents assign each student a tutor, so I want to give a special shout-out to Revd Dr Simo Frestadius; he was amazing. We’d meet over Zoom, and he’d give me guidance, suggesting relevant resources and scholars. Whilst the Masters course is a massive step up from undergraduate, and you are very much left to your own devices, the appropriate level of support and help is there.

The library facilities were great, and I was always able to access the resources I needed. The online access to books and journals was brilliant, especially as I didn’t really want to be checking loads of books out and taking them back on the plane.

Plus, the friends I made whilst studying helped to keep me sane in those nightmare moments when I couldn’t find the all-important 1,000 words to finish the essay off! It was good to have someone to chat to and bounce ideas off.

What are you doing now?
I’m now working as a leadership director for an organisation called Leaders, which works in a diverse range of businesses and companies ranging, for example, from the finance sector, health, and the building trade to third sector and churches. We aim to raise self-awareness in leaders and teams, helping people to understand key leadership factors that build great culture and individual development.

I still work as an Elim minister, and I am part of the team at Eldad in Guernsey, ministering alongside Howard and Emma Davenport, and I am chaplain for the RAF cadets ? I’m really enjoying these new ventures. I do this on a voluntary basis now as I have always loved working bi-vocationally.

Last year I was also invited to be a member of the Ministerial Selection Board for Elim, which is a great privilege.

How can we pray for you?
Whenever someone asks me how they can pray for me, I always ask that they’d pray for wisdom – because I really do need it, like most of the time! So that would be greatly appreciated.

Nicole is part of Guernsey-based leadership consultancy, Leaders, who have published their first official book. The book explores what it means to lead with moral courage, authentic trust and a living legacy mindset and is available on Amazon.

This article first appeared in Direction Magazine. For further details, please click here.

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