Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: My Name is Will Rees and I just finished my second year at Queens. My first two years didn't exactly go how I expected or how I had hoped. In my first year, me and my fellow peers were heavily affected by the impacts of COVID-19 on our learning and social lives. I survived my first year, encountering some obstacles along the way. The self isolation for the second part of the year made it very difficult for me. I was in a solo room and only had 1 other student in my dorm wing. I felt isolated and alone, I didn’t have a lot of human interaction. I felt trapped in my room and this led me to having some really negative thoughts about myself and about life. At the start of my second year I had plans to move into a house with 5 other friends. By late October is when things started to go down hill for me.

The first significant challenge I encountered during the past academic year was a tumultuous falling out with my housemates, which created an environment of heightened stress and tension within my living situation. The strained relationships within our shared space not only impacted my emotional well-being but also posed a hindrance to my academic performance. I felt as if I was confined to my room, sometimes I wasn’t comfortable going to class, other times I felt that leaving my room would lead to more conflict and I didn’t want the confrontation, I felt like it was my 5 housemates vs me. The constant tension and discomfort made it difficult to focus on my studies and maintain a healthy work-life balance. I found it difficult to leave my room somedays, just to avoid potential conflict. I was so focused on trying to figure out how to make things better for myself that I wasn't able to focus on my studies as much as I would have liked. It affected me going to specific classes as we shared some classes with one another. The conflict turned me into an introvert and I didn't want to leave my room.

In addition to the challenging living situation, I experienced two profound personal tragedies that deeply affected me and hindered my ability to thrive academically. Firstly, in November I received the news over the phone of the sudden loss of a dear family friend in a fatal cycling accident that had a devastating impact on my family and myself. The emotional turmoil and grief that followed made it extremely difficult for me to find motivation and stay focused on my academic responsibilities. Coping with the sadness and trying to support my family during this challenging time proved to be overwhelming and too much for me to handle. I had to miss the funeral because of school work and needed to hand in assignments, which caused me to feel even worse and guilty about not being able to be with my family during this time.

In February my family received the worst news of all, that my Uncle Jeff was diagnosed with a brain tumour and was given 14 months to live. The gravity of this diagnosis weighed heavily on my entire family, including myself. The emotional toll it took on me was substantial, leading to feelings of sadness, depression, and anxiety. These emotional difficulties impacted my daily life, making it incredibly challenging to leave my room, eat, and even venture outside the house. I wanted to be able to support my cousins and the rest of my family who were all experiencing the same things as me. I felt guilty that I wasn’t able to support anyone else, I also felt bad for myself as I didn’t feel like anyone was there to support me, except through virtual text messages or phone calls.

Falling out with my housemates created a highly stressful and awkward living situation. Living in an environment filled with tension and discomfort significantly impacted my ability to focus and concentrate on academic responsibilities. It was difficult to find a sense of calm and tranquility necessary for working and getting stuff done, leading to decreased productivity and hindered academic performance. The two occasions of very bad news had a profound impact on my mental health and my emotional well being. Due to the circumstances in my house, I had nobody to share this with, my only friends at school were my housemates, now I had nobody, this caused me to turtle up in my room and be very introverted. This had a negative affect on my well being and my mental health, which led to further struggles academically, mentally and physically. When I reached this point, I have to admit that I focused more on my own well-being rather than my academics. I came to a point where I felt I had to choose one or the other, at this point I wasn't able to put my best foot forward academically. The sadness and fear that came with the news of my Uncle was immeasurable, the weight of such a profound personal concern caused me to have a loss of interest in activities, impact daily functioning and heavily contributed to a decline in my academic performance.

To address these difficulties, I have reached out for support from various resources. I have actively engaged with my therapist once a week to process my emotions surrounding the loss of our family friend and to develop healthy coping mechanisms. I sought out therapy to address the depression and anxiety caused by my uncle's diagnosis. Through these interventions, I am gradually learning to navigate the emotional challenges while developing resilience and fortitude. Additionally, I reached out to school resources on a few occasions and did not find it to be particularly helpful. It was very difficult to access these resources so I sought help from outside resources such as family and physicians.

Despite the numerous obstacles I have encountered, I remain unwavering in my commitment to becoming a better student and person. These difficult experiences have taught me invaluable life lessons about resilience, determination, and the importance of maintaining a positive mindset. I am propelled by a renewed sense of purpose and a burning desire to make the most of the educational opportunities that Queens has to offer. I am fully dedicated to implementing the necessary changes, seeking assistance where needed, and utilizing the support systems available to me in order to excel academically and achieve my full potential.

Thank you for your understanding and consideration. I remain sincerely dedicated to my education and eager to continue my academic journey at Queens.

Will