Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: To whom it may concern,
I know first year can be tough, although experiencing a serious health issue at an uncontrollable time, while balancing a science heavy course load made my first year even harder. Having to leave school and getting picked up by my parents to go to the hospital ER or doctors was not something I had imagined my first year would be at all. Within many classes, assignments were missed and carried weight onto my exams making some worth up to 70% of my final grade, which was surely a pretty difficult way to start off at Queens. Although, I got through those challenges, and that has equipped me with the tools I need to face challenges and have resistance through it all. In my biomechanics class, missing class was difficult as I was experiencing significant memory loss at the time, and didn’t have recorded lectures to guide me, just notes posted which were difficult for me to follow along. With that being said, I tried my best and didn’t perform nearly as well as to what my full capacity is. I am confident without experiencing my health issue, that this grade would look very, very different, as do mine this year so far without any health complications. I realized missing school and not engaging with content for extended periods of time really took a toll on my overall grade in this class. Although in more than one class this was an issue, my grades in assignments prior to my medical issue were high enough to carry out an okay final grade. Again, ones which are not a true representation of my full potential, where I wish this wouldn’t be the case at all. This extenuating circumstance was beyond my control and a physical and mental illness which enabled me to attend any classes, live on my own for the designated period of time, memory impairment effecting knowledge retained in the course. This was difficult for me as studying I did the week before all went to nothing, and memory loss occurred. Barely being able to care for myself, my school work and assignments did not make priority at the time, hence poor academic performance. Several episodes occurred during last semester, although as soon as they came to an end, I would be so eager to get back to my studies and work, as I remember one time coming back to over 100 slides of chemistry lectures. Receiving appropriate help took some time and was a difficult part throughout this journey for me. Depending on each class, submitting academic consideration and emailing with different professors occurred last year, yet difficult as I was in a state of delusion and confusion. As my biomechanics class lowers my gpa significantly, and I know this was something not entirely in my control, I feel strongly about advocating for this especially on the road to medicine school. I hope my request is deemed appropriate, as this part of my life at Queens has been upsetting me for awhile. Id be more than happy to answer any questions or submit any specific information you may need.
All the best,
Naomi Rouhi