Manage Appeals
Petition Type: New
ID: 10691
Submitted: June 13, 2023 at 11:44:15 PM
First Name: Brendan
Last Name: Nedvidek
Pronoun: Mr.
Student Number: 20031402
Email: brendanned@gmail.com
Degree Program: BSH
Plan: MTHE
Level of Study: 3
Petition Categories
Petition Categories: Waive the requirement to withdraw for a minimum of three years
Petition Letter
Petition Letter: Dear Board of Studies,
I am writing this letter as an appeal to the Associate Dean's decision to require that I withdraw for a minimum of three years before resuming my studies.
I have previously suffered from severe depression and social anxiety during the first two years of university which was the original cause of my grades declining and my first academic probation. I started seeing my family doctor who has prescribed me medication and a plan to help me get better. During the covid-19 pandemic things got worse for me and even with the treatment I started to decline mentally to the point where I was issued a requirement to withdraw for a minimum of one full year. I spent that year working on myself by getting a job and continued to meet with my family doctor. My symptoms had improved greatly and I was classified as no longer having severe, but moderate depression that I was managing. During the fall semester in 2022 my girlfriend of almost 5 years ended things which sent me back into a dark place. I had picked up a drug addiction starting in October and was still trying to balance working part time while also continuing my studies. I also had enrolled in some difficult courses which was not ideal for my mental health at the time. I was unable to leave my bed for days and ordered food instead of taking care of myself. This lead to me missing classes, tutorials, and office hours which lead to me failing classes. In the 2023 winter semester I was still addicted to drugs and while the pain from the breakup had somewhat passed, I was still not able to function at what I deemed an acceptable level for my studies. Since March of 2023, I was on a waitlist to see a mental health therapist and in April I was able to finally quit my drug addiction with some help. I am now seeing a therapist every two weeks and I am continuing to take my medication for depression. There is also a history of learning disabilities in my family which my brother was diagnosed with in elementary school. I was never tested for these disabilities but as I have continued my studies it has become more clear that I might also have the same issues. I am currently on a waitlist to see a psychiatrist on recommendation from my therapist to see if other medication might help with the symptoms of my learning disability and depression.
Moving forward with my academics I have made some plans to help get me back on track to completing my classes with higher grades. I have learned from the last year that working part time while studying and trying to get my mental health issues under control is too much to take on all at the same time. I have saved up enough financially to be able to support myself for the next two years without needing to work so that I can focus on getting my grades back on track. During this summer I have been getting help from my therapist to open up about my issues and work on strategies to improve myself. I have moved out of my old housing and back in with my parents who live 15 minutes away from the university to remove any pressure of taking drugs again. I have been clean for two months now and have no intention of every trying anything ever again. During the second semester I was able to improve slightly to pass my classes but I believe that if given another chance from where I am now I will be able to make even greater improvements thanks to the support web I've built around me. Assuming that I will be able to return to studies I have discussed with my doctor about overcoming my social anxiety and getting a tutor for the rest of my studies. While challenging for me I have learned that asking for help is the best way to move forward with my treatment no matter where I am rather than suffering in silence. During the last year I was enrolled in a laboratory course which I was able to talk without worry with the TA's and professors and was able to raise my grade to a B- for the year. I believe that if I can continue with my therapist and medications I will be able to raise all of my grades for the next year.
I have met with academic advisors a couple times since receiving the letter that requires me to withdraw and they have given me supporting documentation to submit along with my letter. I have spoken with my doctor and they said they are not allowed to fill out the form unless a formal appointment is made even if it is only a one page form. The earliest they had available was June 26th which is past the deadline for the letter of appeal. If this supporting documentation will help appeal the decision I can submit it later this month after I have the appointment.
I am writing this letter as an appeal to the Associate Dean's decision to require that I withdraw for a minimum of three years before resuming my studies.
I have previously suffered from severe depression and social anxiety during the first two years of university which was the original cause of my grades declining and my first academic probation. I started seeing my family doctor who has prescribed me medication and a plan to help me get better. During the covid-19 pandemic things got worse for me and even with the treatment I started to decline mentally to the point where I was issued a requirement to withdraw for a minimum of one full year. I spent that year working on myself by getting a job and continued to meet with my family doctor. My symptoms had improved greatly and I was classified as no longer having severe, but moderate depression that I was managing. During the fall semester in 2022 my girlfriend of almost 5 years ended things which sent me back into a dark place. I had picked up a drug addiction starting in October and was still trying to balance working part time while also continuing my studies. I also had enrolled in some difficult courses which was not ideal for my mental health at the time. I was unable to leave my bed for days and ordered food instead of taking care of myself. This lead to me missing classes, tutorials, and office hours which lead to me failing classes. In the 2023 winter semester I was still addicted to drugs and while the pain from the breakup had somewhat passed, I was still not able to function at what I deemed an acceptable level for my studies. Since March of 2023, I was on a waitlist to see a mental health therapist and in April I was able to finally quit my drug addiction with some help. I am now seeing a therapist every two weeks and I am continuing to take my medication for depression. There is also a history of learning disabilities in my family which my brother was diagnosed with in elementary school. I was never tested for these disabilities but as I have continued my studies it has become more clear that I might also have the same issues. I am currently on a waitlist to see a psychiatrist on recommendation from my therapist to see if other medication might help with the symptoms of my learning disability and depression.
Moving forward with my academics I have made some plans to help get me back on track to completing my classes with higher grades. I have learned from the last year that working part time while studying and trying to get my mental health issues under control is too much to take on all at the same time. I have saved up enough financially to be able to support myself for the next two years without needing to work so that I can focus on getting my grades back on track. During this summer I have been getting help from my therapist to open up about my issues and work on strategies to improve myself. I have moved out of my old housing and back in with my parents who live 15 minutes away from the university to remove any pressure of taking drugs again. I have been clean for two months now and have no intention of every trying anything ever again. During the second semester I was able to improve slightly to pass my classes but I believe that if given another chance from where I am now I will be able to make even greater improvements thanks to the support web I've built around me. Assuming that I will be able to return to studies I have discussed with my doctor about overcoming my social anxiety and getting a tutor for the rest of my studies. While challenging for me I have learned that asking for help is the best way to move forward with my treatment no matter where I am rather than suffering in silence. During the last year I was enrolled in a laboratory course which I was able to talk without worry with the TA's and professors and was able to raise my grade to a B- for the year. I believe that if I can continue with my therapist and medications I will be able to raise all of my grades for the next year.
I have met with academic advisors a couple times since receiving the letter that requires me to withdraw and they have given me supporting documentation to submit along with my letter. I have spoken with my doctor and they said they are not allowed to fill out the form unless a formal appointment is made even if it is only a one page form. The earliest they had available was June 26th which is past the deadline for the letter of appeal. If this supporting documentation will help appeal the decision I can submit it later this month after I have the appointment.
Academic Plan
Academic Plan: I have spent a couple sessions with academic advisors creating a plan for moving forward with my studies. In the past we have highlighted a few issues that I will be improving with this plan and meeting again after a couple weeks into the next semester to see how things have improved and make any adjustments to the plan.
In terms of course content I have been able to follow all of the materials covered in lectures and notes provided but was lacking when it came to showing up for tutorials and office hours. This was partially due to being bed ridden from my depression but also being too afraid to ask for help. I have been in talks with my therapist and she has helped me open up with talking with others. Before I felt ashamed that I wasn't good enough or didn't know the answers but I will be attending all required and optional sessions for my classes. I originally stopped going to office hours because I was too afraid to ask for help and would just listen to other questions asked by other students. I have become less anxious when speaking in front of people and will be asking for help no matter how stupid I think the question might sound as it is the only way for me to learn.
I have also been in talks with an academic advisor about switching my major from Math to Physics. I found physics to be a much more interesting field of study and have taken many of the required courses for a physics degree. The only thing stopping me from becoming a physics major in second year was my GPA. I plan on switching majors as well as improving my grades in the upcoming year so that I can officially switch out of pure Math which I don't find as a fulfilling field of study.
Previously I had difficulties remembering important deadlines and dates as I would often forget unless I was constantly reminded. In therapy my therapist recommended keeping things in sight so that I could visually see when things were approaching and wouldn't let assignments or quizzes pass the deadline and take penalties for them. I have gotten a large whiteboard calendar and bright coloured post it notes that I leave on my monitor to keep a visual reminder of things approaching. This has proved very helpful for things outside of school and I am ready to apply it to my studies when I return.
After being required to withdraw previously I had taken some time to better myself by speaking with my family doctor about my medication and depression. Things got a lot worse in October of 2022 after my girlfriend of 5 years broke up with me and I developed a nasty drug addiction. This lead to a period of major depression where I could barely leave my bed and would order food while not taking care of myself. I have quit my addiction two months ago and have been clean ever since. I will no longer be partaking in any sort of drugs or alcohol and have moved away to my parents house in kingston to avoid the people who got me started on that path.
Financially I have spent the summers as well as my year away from studies to build up some savings that will last me comfortably for the next two to three years of full time classes. Previously I had been working part time and splitting my focus between school, work, and my mental health. This cause me to stretch myself to the point where I was lacking in all three and not making much progress. In the future I will only be working during the summer when I am not taking classes so that I can spend all of my time working on improving my grades and study habits. This will allow me to improve my GPA without the added stress of trying to save enough for tuition and rent.
If I am allowed to return to studies I will be routinely be in talks with and academic advisor to make sure I am following my academic plan and improve my GPA. I hope that by meeting with QSAS and getting tutors that I will be able to get all of my assignments and homework completed well before the last day before it is due. I am also on a wait list for a psychiatrist to see if there are any learning disabilities affecting me and if a different type of medication might help me focus on my studies.
In terms of course content I have been able to follow all of the materials covered in lectures and notes provided but was lacking when it came to showing up for tutorials and office hours. This was partially due to being bed ridden from my depression but also being too afraid to ask for help. I have been in talks with my therapist and she has helped me open up with talking with others. Before I felt ashamed that I wasn't good enough or didn't know the answers but I will be attending all required and optional sessions for my classes. I originally stopped going to office hours because I was too afraid to ask for help and would just listen to other questions asked by other students. I have become less anxious when speaking in front of people and will be asking for help no matter how stupid I think the question might sound as it is the only way for me to learn.
I have also been in talks with an academic advisor about switching my major from Math to Physics. I found physics to be a much more interesting field of study and have taken many of the required courses for a physics degree. The only thing stopping me from becoming a physics major in second year was my GPA. I plan on switching majors as well as improving my grades in the upcoming year so that I can officially switch out of pure Math which I don't find as a fulfilling field of study.
Previously I had difficulties remembering important deadlines and dates as I would often forget unless I was constantly reminded. In therapy my therapist recommended keeping things in sight so that I could visually see when things were approaching and wouldn't let assignments or quizzes pass the deadline and take penalties for them. I have gotten a large whiteboard calendar and bright coloured post it notes that I leave on my monitor to keep a visual reminder of things approaching. This has proved very helpful for things outside of school and I am ready to apply it to my studies when I return.
After being required to withdraw previously I had taken some time to better myself by speaking with my family doctor about my medication and depression. Things got a lot worse in October of 2022 after my girlfriend of 5 years broke up with me and I developed a nasty drug addiction. This lead to a period of major depression where I could barely leave my bed and would order food while not taking care of myself. I have quit my addiction two months ago and have been clean ever since. I will no longer be partaking in any sort of drugs or alcohol and have moved away to my parents house in kingston to avoid the people who got me started on that path.
Financially I have spent the summers as well as my year away from studies to build up some savings that will last me comfortably for the next two to three years of full time classes. Previously I had been working part time and splitting my focus between school, work, and my mental health. This cause me to stretch myself to the point where I was lacking in all three and not making much progress. In the future I will only be working during the summer when I am not taking classes so that I can spend all of my time working on improving my grades and study habits. This will allow me to improve my GPA without the added stress of trying to save enough for tuition and rent.
If I am allowed to return to studies I will be routinely be in talks with and academic advisor to make sure I am following my academic plan and improve my GPA. I hope that by meeting with QSAS and getting tutors that I will be able to get all of my assignments and homework completed well before the last day before it is due. I am also on a wait list for a psychiatrist to see if there are any learning disabilities affecting me and if a different type of medication might help me focus on my studies.
Documentation
Professional Letter Detail: NO DOC