Manage Appeals
Petition Type: New
ID: 12003
Submitted: June 11, 2024 at 3:07:33 PM
First Name: Alexandra
Last Name: Korakis
Pronoun: she/her
Preferred Name: Alex
Student Number: 20353080
Email: 21atk4@queensu.ca
Degree Program: BAH
Plan: undeclared
Level of Study: 2
Petition Categories
Petition Categories: Drop a course after the academic deadline, Waive the requirement to withdraw for one year, Waive the 21-day or one term deadline
Code: PSYC 241
Term: Winter
Year: 2024
Petition Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline
Code: PSYC 236
Term: Winter
Year: 2024
Petition Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline
Code: ENGL 104
Term: Fall
Year: 2023
Petition Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline
Code: PHIL 153
Term: Fall
Year: 2023
Petition Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline
Code: PSYC 271
Term: Fall
Year: 2023
Petition Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline
Code: ENGL 296
Term: Fall
Year: 2023
Petition Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline
Code: PHIL 115
Term: Fall/Winter
Year: 2024
Petition Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline
Code: CLST 203
Term: Winter
Year: 2024
Petition Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline
Code: PSYC 221
Term: Winter
Year: 2024
Petition Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline
Petition Letter
Petition Letter: Dear Associate Dean,
My name is Alexandra Korakis and I just finished my second year of studies at Queen's University. The reason I am writing to you today is to petition my requirement to withdraw for one year, as well as to try and have a late drop for the courses that I have failed both this year as well as in my second semester of my first year. The reason that I am requesting to to have these courses as a late drop is because over the past couple of years I have struggled with depression, but as of the past year and a half it had gotten significantly worse to the point where I found it very hard to get out of bed and live my daily lifestyle, nevermind completing my work for school. I spent time trying to figure out how to deal with this over the past year and a half with my therapist, but nothing seemed to work until a few months ago when I had started to take antidepressants as well as my therapy sessions. I started to take this medication in January and each month I have gotten significantly better so that now I am at a point that I am confident that I could get back to being the student that I used to be with completing my work in a very timely fashion, as well as not only passing but exceeding at my classes. Although I started to take this medication in January, I couldn’t see the full progress until recently. It started with me being able to get out of bed easier, then followed with me eating more properly and living a healthier lifestyle by going to the gym and having a daily routine. When I finally noticed the progress with my schoolwork it had been too late in the year for me to be able to catch up with everything in my classes, so all I could really do at this point was study my hardest for my exams and hope that would be enough, which it was not. I know that I did not handle this situation exactly properly at the time and I should have talked to the school early about my struggles, but now that I am in a much better place and have set a routine for myself that I have been following, I am confident that if you waive my requirement to withdraw I will exceed with my academics next year and prove that I am much better now, as well as why I deserve to stay in this program. As for how I am planning to catch up with the classes that I have failed and will hopefully be dropped, I am planning to take a couple of summer courses for the July - August time period that I will need to sign up for. I didn’t want to take any courses during the first summer time period because I wanted to be sure that I had some time to get into a healthy routine while feeling better that I could stick to without adding the stress of schoolwork on top of that to think about. And I am also planning on taking a 5th year to complete all of my necessary courses so that I don’t need to shove them all into a small timeframe and can really give my courses the necessary attention that they deserve. I really hope that you take my petition into consideration so that I have the chance to prove myself to the school next year because I do love my classes and would love a second chance to show what I am really capable of. I have also attached a letter from my therapist explaining what I have been going through this past year and a half, as well as steps that we have been taking to improve and my progress so far.
Thank you for your consideration,
Alexandra Korakis.
My name is Alexandra Korakis and I just finished my second year of studies at Queen's University. The reason I am writing to you today is to petition my requirement to withdraw for one year, as well as to try and have a late drop for the courses that I have failed both this year as well as in my second semester of my first year. The reason that I am requesting to to have these courses as a late drop is because over the past couple of years I have struggled with depression, but as of the past year and a half it had gotten significantly worse to the point where I found it very hard to get out of bed and live my daily lifestyle, nevermind completing my work for school. I spent time trying to figure out how to deal with this over the past year and a half with my therapist, but nothing seemed to work until a few months ago when I had started to take antidepressants as well as my therapy sessions. I started to take this medication in January and each month I have gotten significantly better so that now I am at a point that I am confident that I could get back to being the student that I used to be with completing my work in a very timely fashion, as well as not only passing but exceeding at my classes. Although I started to take this medication in January, I couldn’t see the full progress until recently. It started with me being able to get out of bed easier, then followed with me eating more properly and living a healthier lifestyle by going to the gym and having a daily routine. When I finally noticed the progress with my schoolwork it had been too late in the year for me to be able to catch up with everything in my classes, so all I could really do at this point was study my hardest for my exams and hope that would be enough, which it was not. I know that I did not handle this situation exactly properly at the time and I should have talked to the school early about my struggles, but now that I am in a much better place and have set a routine for myself that I have been following, I am confident that if you waive my requirement to withdraw I will exceed with my academics next year and prove that I am much better now, as well as why I deserve to stay in this program. As for how I am planning to catch up with the classes that I have failed and will hopefully be dropped, I am planning to take a couple of summer courses for the July - August time period that I will need to sign up for. I didn’t want to take any courses during the first summer time period because I wanted to be sure that I had some time to get into a healthy routine while feeling better that I could stick to without adding the stress of schoolwork on top of that to think about. And I am also planning on taking a 5th year to complete all of my necessary courses so that I don’t need to shove them all into a small timeframe and can really give my courses the necessary attention that they deserve. I really hope that you take my petition into consideration so that I have the chance to prove myself to the school next year because I do love my classes and would love a second chance to show what I am really capable of. I have also attached a letter from my therapist explaining what I have been going through this past year and a half, as well as steps that we have been taking to improve and my progress so far.
Thank you for your consideration,
Alexandra Korakis.
Academic Plan
Academic Plan: Course of study:
The courses that I am planning to register in this year would be multiple different psychology courses, such as the ones that I had failed over this past year. I really did enjoy taking these courses and feel that the material is something that I could really excel in now that I am in a much better place both mentally and physically. Other courses that I plan on registering in would be the sociology course that I had failed in first year, as well as maybe some philosophy courses. I feel that these are all courses that I could do well in while being in a better headspace because they are all courses that I am interested in, and I find that when I am interested in the material it makes the motivation to do work and go to class that much easier.
Full time versus part time status:
The plan as of right now would be to take 5 courses per semester. I feel that I will be able to complete all of these courses since I will not be taking an outside job and focusing my attention on my school work, with appropriate breaks so that my brain does not get too overwhelmed and I can do all of my work to the best of my ability. If any professors or anyone at the school feels that it would be better for me to start by taking 4 courses the first semester I come back and then turning that into 5 the second semester, I would be open to this as well so that I can set myself up for success in the best way possible.
Strategies for success:
This year I know a big factor that has gotten in the way of my success was my depression and not taking care of that properly as it got worse. When returning this year I am going to be sure to attend my therapy biweekly with check ins there of how I am doing on completing my assignments and finding ways with my therapist to keep myself motivating. Along these lines, I have also been taking antidepressants which have helped with my motivation, and I will continue to take these antidepressants daily to help with keeping my mood up and my motivation strong. I will also be spending my summer building a daily routine that works best for me to keep my motivation and mental health at the best place that it can be. This includes having a regular sleep schedule, daily meals around the same time which are healthy choices for me, and doing things that make me happy such as going to the gym daily, or having a bit of me time to read. Another way that I plan to have to help me succeed in my classes is to find other people in the class that I can be friends with who I can also use as a type of study group so that we can keep each other in check so that we are caught up on all the work, as well as studying for exams together or writing papers/doing assignments in the same place so that we can help keep each other from being distracted. I also think that another thing that I can do this year to help me succeed would be going to professors office hours so that I can ask any questions I might have about the material, or talk about due dates in advance if I think there is anything that might keep me from being able to meet a deadline.
The courses that I am planning to register in this year would be multiple different psychology courses, such as the ones that I had failed over this past year. I really did enjoy taking these courses and feel that the material is something that I could really excel in now that I am in a much better place both mentally and physically. Other courses that I plan on registering in would be the sociology course that I had failed in first year, as well as maybe some philosophy courses. I feel that these are all courses that I could do well in while being in a better headspace because they are all courses that I am interested in, and I find that when I am interested in the material it makes the motivation to do work and go to class that much easier.
Full time versus part time status:
The plan as of right now would be to take 5 courses per semester. I feel that I will be able to complete all of these courses since I will not be taking an outside job and focusing my attention on my school work, with appropriate breaks so that my brain does not get too overwhelmed and I can do all of my work to the best of my ability. If any professors or anyone at the school feels that it would be better for me to start by taking 4 courses the first semester I come back and then turning that into 5 the second semester, I would be open to this as well so that I can set myself up for success in the best way possible.
Strategies for success:
This year I know a big factor that has gotten in the way of my success was my depression and not taking care of that properly as it got worse. When returning this year I am going to be sure to attend my therapy biweekly with check ins there of how I am doing on completing my assignments and finding ways with my therapist to keep myself motivating. Along these lines, I have also been taking antidepressants which have helped with my motivation, and I will continue to take these antidepressants daily to help with keeping my mood up and my motivation strong. I will also be spending my summer building a daily routine that works best for me to keep my motivation and mental health at the best place that it can be. This includes having a regular sleep schedule, daily meals around the same time which are healthy choices for me, and doing things that make me happy such as going to the gym daily, or having a bit of me time to read. Another way that I plan to have to help me succeed in my classes is to find other people in the class that I can be friends with who I can also use as a type of study group so that we can keep each other in check so that we are caught up on all the work, as well as studying for exams together or writing papers/doing assignments in the same place so that we can help keep each other from being distracted. I also think that another thing that I can do this year to help me succeed would be going to professors office hours so that I can ask any questions I might have about the material, or talk about due dates in advance if I think there is anything that might keep me from being able to meet a deadline.
Documentation
Professional Letter: A Korakis - Appeal letter.pdf