Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Dear Dr. Jenn Stephenson,

I’m Danielle Braun (20346618) and I am petitioning to have the courses DRAM 200 and PSYC 236 be given a credit standing as well as the courses PSYC 241 and PSYC 100 (2023/2024 year) be dropped past the academic deadline due to unforeseen circumstances of bereavement, family health decline, and a mental health diagnosis. I would have submitted this petition sooner, but I was only recently made aware of its existence.

In January of 2024, a very close family member of mine passed away while in hospital and I was required to go home at the end of January to attend the service. I applied for short-term academic consideration which was granted and used wisely. It was that same weekend my father announced he had a biopsy done due to 2 masses in his lung. In early February, this was revealed to be lung cancer, and a couple of weeks later, it was confirmed to be stage 4; this is when we also were informed he had a significantly low chance of going into remission. It was also around this time that my grandmother let our family know that her cancer had come back, and at this stage in her life, she had little time left. I then applied for academic consideration for 1 month to try and cope with the devastating news. This consideration ended up having to be extended to the rest of the term, as the news sparked a downturn in my mental health and highlighted what I was diagnosed with in March of 2024, which was ADHD. Due to already showing symptoms of depression and anxiety, as well as being medicated for them, the symptoms of my ADHD were assumed to be related to those mental health disorders and not properly treated. I was unable to receive any treatment as my doctor has a strict policy for no over-the-phone appointments and didn’t want to start me on medication unless he could closely monitor me, which he was unable to do due to me living in Kingston and him being in Newmarket. The considerations I was given were appreciated in the sense that I was able to get extensions on assignments and deferred exams for when I had to go back home, but with the ADHD diagnosis on top of this and now having the effects of extreme added stress, getting my work done on time and to the absolute best of my ability was almost impossible. For reference, I’ve had ADHD for a long time, but the added stress on top of already struggling to complete work and not being able to access treatment from my doctor is what did me in. My grandmother ended up passing away on the day of my PSYC 100 final exam, which had also been deferred due to an extreme stomach illness that was unrelated to any of my preexisting issues with completing schoolwork. I would have dropped the courses sooner to meet the deadline, but with pressure from my parents to continue pushing through as well as believing that things would take an upturn and I would be able to cope with the stress, I did not foresee myself doing as poorly as I did until it was too late.

During my time away from Queen’s I’ve been keeping up with my treatment plan for anxiety and depression as well as now being on a medication for ADHD that has been helping my symptoms. I’ve also been working with a therapist for quite some time with coping strategies and plans of action for my upcoming return to the university. I have submitted my documentation for accommodations with QSAS and have upcoming meetings with an advisor about next steps for gaining as much accommodations as I need for my ADHD. While on deferral, I’ve also been working to gain experience in the field of early childhood studies and development, which I would like to pursue as a career. With all this being said, I’m sure that with the help of the petition as well as keeping up with my treatment and regular therapy appointments, I will be ready for a smooth and successful return to Queen’s University.

Thank you,
Danielle Braun