Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: To the Associate Dean
I was unable to do the appeal process earlier because I never realized my options and was unaware of them. Due to my major depression and anxiety, I was also suffering from severe avoidance behavior and I became depressed every time I thought about my school performance so I never got the chance to research it. I only became aware of my options when the academic counsellor brought it to my attention and now that I am starting to feel better and managing my depression, I am doing the appeal. It also took a while because I wanted to know the full extent of my illness and get a proper diagnosis before doing the appeal and to have supporting evidence.
I first started attending Queens University in the fall of 2012 right after high school. During my time at Queens University, I struggled a lot due to a wide range of factors outside my control and was placed on OSAP academic restriction and required to withdraw for 1 year from my studies. During my time off, I have had time to examine and reflect on what went wrong. I would like to return to my studies and get a fresh start now that most of my issues have subsided and I am actively trying to take care of remaining ones. My academic record and standing at Queens is poor and is something I am hoping to receive your help for. I was not aware of the appeal process and did not think it was for me until an academic counsellor brought it to my attention. It was also because my depression didn¿¿t allow me to think clearly and explore my options sooner. My poor results and performance was as a result of several events beyond my control. Firstly, the summer before attending University, my mother became very sick and this had a huge toll on me and my family. On top of that, I became aware and developed several health problems during University and had a very hard time adjusting to University life. I was also unsure about my career and program choices. The amalgamation of my problems led me into a spiral of depression and hopelessness and as I tried to cope with it on my own, I struggled and it had a huge impact on my health and my academic performance at Queens.
The summer before I started attending university, my mother was diagnosed with Major Depression and this took a huge toll on my health, as well as my family¿¿s health. She was having symptoms such as crying and laughing spells, constant headaches and she was always sleeping. The onset was sudden and seeing her in that state left us all devastated as we didn¿¿t know how to cope. I was constantly worried about her and slowly stopped doing things I enjoy and fell into depression. My dad was already suffering from depression and their financial situation wasn¿¿t great but got worse when they no longer received tax benefits for me. Still, I thought everything would change when I go to University as I thought I would forget but the pressures of adjusting to university life and the stresses that come with it (being away from home, trying to adjust, not fitting in, etc.) on top of that led me to break down. I was constantly worried my mother and my younger siblings and could not focus on my studies, lost my appetite and could not sleep at night. As a result, I was always tired during the day and had to take naps and miss lectures or was tired and unable to concentrate at the lectures that I did attend. The past year that I have had to live with them, I feel much better because I have been able to help them and notice that they can somewhat manage with the medications. I was also worried about my younger siblings being able to cope with that, help her, and take care of themselves
Moving from home and living at University was a drastic change for me and it was very hard for me to adapt. My self-esteem has always been low but it really hit me once I started attending University as I constantly felt inferior to my peers because I was so much smaller and weaker than them all, my self-esteem went down the drain as I didn¿¿t make any friends and didn¿¿t fit in. My peers were all healthy, tall and much stronger than me. I always felt embarrassed and uncomfortable outside my room due to anxiety. I started developing a lot of symptoms like weakness in my legs, back pain, headaches, heel pain, chest pain, etc. I tried going to the gym for the first time in my life to bring about some changes and I couldn¿¿t even do that as I felt nauseated every time I went there. I started to think there is a lot wrong with me and I am not normal, etc. I started seeing doctors but couldn¿¿t bring myself to fully disclose my situation/feelings because I am a shy person. I also started to question my choices and my career path. Another problem I faced was with the food, I had a hard time adjusting to the food away from home, both due to the difference in cultures and religious limitations. I resorted to eating unhealthy things like pizza and chips daily. These problems led me to feel unwell, unconfident, led me to worry more and ultimately contributed to my depression. I contemplated suicide at times but decided against it.
My focus and concentration highly deteriorated during University and I wasn¿¿t sure if it was because of my depression or ADD. I saw a psychiatrist recently and he said I might have it but there is a 500 fee to undergo testing and advised me to do it through my school¿¿s disability services since I cannot afford it which I plan to do if possible or when I get OSAP.
This past year however, I have had a lot of time to tackle these issues. I have been visiting doctors for all my issues so I am reassured that there is nothing major wrong with me which makes me feel better about myself. I saw an Endocrinologist, a neurologist, a neuromuscular specialist, an ENT specialist, and a psychologist. I also saw a Cardiologist (Dr. Mora) who reassured me that I am fine and I should just do less exerting exercise. I also did surgery last summer after I found out I had a severely deviated septum. This helped alleviate and reduce some of my symptoms and I can breathe and sleep better and don¿¿t feel as tired during the day. I still have some symptoms but they are minor and manageable. I have been going to Good Life Fitness since last September and have gotten noticeably stronger so I feel more confident and no longer feel inferior. I am managing my depression with the advice of my physicians. All in all, I am taking a more active approach towards my health and constantly making improvements in my life.
I also feel much better about my parents and family and am not worried too much anymore as I¿¿ve learned to cope with it and accept it. I had 1 year to live with them and notice that they are doing somewhat better with medication. Still, I plan to try and switch Universities to a close-by one in order to be here and take care of them and ensure I am here when they get sick instead of constantly travelling from Kingston. I want to switch Universities so I could be closer to home but my transcript is not in a good state so it will be hard for me to switch. I hope that my appeal is accepted and I can drop some courses so I can open more choices if possible.
I have documentation to prove my mother¿¿s illness and my own illness but I am unable to submit it through the online interface as it constantly resets my application. I will email it separately as an attachment. If you need any further documentation or any clarification, please do not hesitate to contact me and I will do what I can to provide it.
Thank you
Sincerely
Amar Mohmand ¿¿ Student ID: 10067869 NetId: 12mam5@queensu.ca