Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Dear Associate Dean,
I am petitioning to drop ENGL200 (winter 2022), ENGL234 (winter 2022), HIST287 (winter 2022), RELS202 (winter 2022), RELS240 (winter 2022), ENGL281 (fall 2022), HIST283 (fall 2022), HIST295 (fall 2022), and RELS328 (winter 2023). During the winter semester in 2022 I was not taking the right kind of medication for my anxiety and depression until I returned home in May and because of this I was extremely depressed and unmotivated to succeed in school. I did not want to leave my bed or even eat so you can imagine how difficult it was for me to find the will to go to class or complete my work on time. It was a very difficult time for me, and I did see my family doctor, my psychologist, and my psychiatrist when I returned home and fixed my medication which took a while, but I am not prescribed the correct medication and doses. Right before the fall semester began in 2022, I was also diagnosed with ADHD and had to experiment with multiple types and dosages of medication to help with that, so I was not in the optimal state of mind for learning. This semester from February to mid-March I became very ill and due to this illness, I was unable to focus on school and was forced to stop taking my medications (anti-depression, anxiety, and ADHD) and I have only just begun taking them again. I was hospitalized three times and was in such discomfort that I could not go to class or eat anything. I became very weak and could not even take care of myself, much less my schoolwork. This unexpected illness caused quite the setback for me, and I have a lot of schoolwork to catch up on and I don??t think it will be possible for me to catch up in all my classes and I would prefer to just focus on the courses that I believe I can succeed in. I am including a doctor??s note from my family physician and if more documentation is needed, I can get that as well from my psychologist, etc. This past year has been incredibly hard for me with all my mental health struggles and physical health struggles as well, and now that I am finally on the path to being healthy again my main goal is to focus and work as hard as I can to catch up and complete the assignments I need to complete, and study and focus on exams so that this entire semester isn??t a giant waste. I am also enrolled in two online classes for the summer semester in hopes that I can work on catching up on what I have fallen behind in. These were all just unfortunate extenuating circumstances that were beyond my control and had I known that all of these issues would arise I might have chosen to take a year off rather than put myself through unnecessary hardships and focus on getting myself healthy (mentally and physically) but I did not predict that any of this would affect my schoolwork as much as it did. I am a hard worker and very determined and right now my sole focus is doing the best that I can in my remaining courses this semester and in the remainder of my education at Queen??s University so that I am able to work my dream job of being a teacher. I am confident that I am on the right path right now and am in a good place physically (I overcame my sickness and am healthy again) and mentally (I am back on my medications which will keep me stable) and I want nothing more than to succeed at Queen??s and I am willing to work for it. Thank you very much in advance for reading this letter and for your considerations.

Sincerely,
Shannon Rodgers
20217321