Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: To Whom It May Concern,

I would like to request permission to drop a course that I took in the summer semester 2015. The course is BIOL321. I would truly appreciate your consideration in this request.

Recently, I encountered an unfortunate and unexpected family crisis. My grandmother (GumSik Jin) died suddenly on May 25th.
I know that one might say that the death of a grandmother might be a normal thing to expect in life. My relationship with my grandmother was, what I felt, very special. As a child I admired her strength and her determination in dealing with life's often unpredictability. She had lived through the Korean War and her experiences during that time made her a unique woman. As a young person, she had convinced me to try and accept new challenges even ones that were outside of my comfort zone. As a result I came to Canada to study during my grade 10 and later University for a total of 8 years away from my homeland. During that time I missed many family functions and those special times with my grandmother. It was especially sad that finally this past few months I had finally returned to Korea with the expectations to enjoy time with my family and notably my grandmother and only a short time after that decision she died.

It is a necessary custom of my religion to participate in religious rituals that were held after her death, every Monday until mid-July out of respect for her. I had notified my instructors about this so that I could be granted extended due dates for some of my assignments during the week of her funeral. I attempted to return to my regular life as soon as possible. I completed other assignments on time. However, since I was engaged in the constant rituals, I could not dismiss her from my mind. I must admit that I felt some sense of guilt after my grandmother's death that I had not spent more time with her these past few years instead, always expecting to do it once my studies slowed down.
It was my intention and belief that I could carry on with my studies after her death but I was not expecting the continued sadness and emotional toll that I have experienced as a result. Although I tried, I have found that the workload of the three courses and emotional ups and downs I have been experiencing have been too much for me to overcome and I find it necessary to drop one course rather than face the possibility of doing poorly in all of them.


Related to the death of my grandmother I have been diagnosed for the past few years with orthostatic hypotension. After her death, I have found the symptoms worsened over the last month. I have experienced frequent fatigue and dizziness. This has also greatly affected my required time to concentrate on my work. I have attempted to be seen by a doctor but for past two months, but MERS occurred in Korea, and it has been so difficult to make a doctor appointment at University hospitals unless it is almost a critical need. I have made an appointment to have this dealt with but it will still be a few weeks before I can be seen.

I have the doctor appointment at the end of July which would help my symptoms improve. I will maintain regular meetings with the doctor to recover from the illness. I believe that this would support my academic goal in the future. I would also consult with an academic advisor at Queen's University to make adjustments needed to succeed. I would take lighter workload courses which would make less vulnerable to my health problem. I have a month to treat my illness as well as to overcome my sorrow before I start a new semester.
I made an unwise decision. I thought that waiting for a certain period of time with persistence would mitigate grief, and would help me to focus on my work. I should have thought of a dropping the course earlier. I could not concentrate on school as planned in this summer. However, I am ready to look towards my future after treating my illness and grief.
I hope that you will consider my appeal to have to drop this course without penalty. I would be willing to supply any further documentation or information you require. Thank you for your consideration.

Thank you,

JinHee Lim