Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Dear Associate Dean (Academic),

My name is Jess Salhany. I am currently in my 3rd year at Queen’s University. Almost 3 years ago, I entered my first semester at Queen’s. My friends and I started our first year off partying and getting all the excitement out of our system. However, as time went on in the academic year, we all settled down and focussed on our studies. I had the same classes as some friends, and we all put the same amount of time into our studies, but I always ended up with a much worse off grade than anyone else I knew. I chalked it up to the fact that “I’m just not as smart as them”.

As I put more time into my studies in my 2nd semester (Winter 2023), my grades still did not improve. Something happened that January that shook our worlds a little bit. A friend of mine got taken advantage of in a club bathroom and I was one of the primary witnesses. There was an investigation open, and I had to go into the police station, meet one on one with a detective and tell my entire perspective on what happened. So, it was easy for me to blame my failures in school on this pretty major event. I did my best to move on and was put on academic probation at the end of my first year.

By the time second year came around, I was extremely driven and determined to improve my grades, because the last thing that I wanted was to get kicked out of school. So, semester 3 came and went, with me having spent much less time with my friends because I was studying every weekend instead of going out with them. But, still, no improvement in my grades. Even though I was putting in more time and effort than anyone I knew, I still was not seeing the results that I needed. Assignments were not getting sent in, and, having spent that much time trying to get my work done, I felt embarrassed to admit that to anyone. I felt ashamed that I still didn’t have enough time to complete assignments while my friends were getting the same assignments submitted days early.

It was around halfway through the Fall semester of my 2nd year that I started to feel anxious. This is also around the time that I discovered that I had mastered the art of ignoring my feelings, because once the anxiety came along, everything hit me like a truck. It was that much harder to do what I needed to do, with my impending, and now inevitable fate of getting forced to withdraw from studies for a year. So, I shut down.

My friends urged me to open up to my parents and ask for therapy, and I finally did, right before the Winter 2024 semester began. It took a long time to match with a therapist that was going to help me in the ways that I needed, so I only had my first meeting with her once my final exams were over for that semester. I spent my semester consumed with anxiety, sadness, exhaustion, confusion and fear. It started as every week, and then became every day that I was calling my mom crying because there was “something wrong with me” and I didn’t know what.
It took all of 2 minutes after the introduction and summary part of my first therapy session, for my therapist to look me in the eye and ask me if I have ever gotten assessed for ADHD. And it was in that moment that I thought back to every time that I showed signs of it. My grade 6 teacher sitting with me at lunch time every day to help me improve my grades. My mom reading my high school books with me because I couldn’t focus enough to read them myself. My friends telling me that I have ADHD and “need to lock in”. But in all of these moments, my brain was just saying “what a funny joke” and then moved on without giving it a second thought. So, it was time for me to get assessed. The one task that my therapist gave me for the summer was to book an appointment and get assessed. Let’s just put it this way… You don’t leave the girl with suspected ADHD and who is probably also in denial, with the responsibility of getting herself assessed while she is also diving head first into her summer employment where she is manager of an entire summer camp.

In May (2024) I also got the email that I thought was going to destroy me. I was for sure getting kicked out of school. I opened the letter and saw something that I didn’t think was possible. I was given another chance. The school saw the improvement in my grades, but it wasn’t quite enough to meet the requirements, so they were giving me one more chance, at a reduced course load of 9 units per semester. Reading this email was the biggest weight off my shoulders and I burst out into tears, knowing that my fight wasn’t over.

I thought that a reduced course load was going to be enough for me to accomplish what I needed to and that an assessment was not needed anymore, but reality struck after week 2 of Fall 2024 came and went and I was already behind. My therapist ended up instructing me to book an appointment with my family doctor to get a prescription. I ended up getting an ADHD assessment booked by the end of that reading week as well, and a very low prescription that did nothing to help me. The anxiety didn’t stop though, because my grades were not improving at all. Even after spending nearly all my time studying and trying to get ahead on assignments, I did not see any improvement.
I started my assessment late in October 2024, I had sessions around 1-2 weeks apart and saw a number of different psychologists throughout them all. The anxiety was at its worst during this time because, the more assessments I did, the more I felt like I really did have ADHD. It was most certainly a relief to know that my failures weren’t in my control in any way, but the fact that I was taking classes, knowing that I wasn’t going to succeed made me feel utterly helpless.
So, in January 2025, I got my diagnosis. I have moderate-level ADHD. This explained pretty much every single issue that I have encountered since I walked into Queen’s for my first year. I ran as fast as I could to the doctor’s office, got my appropriate prescription and started medication right away. I also registered myself for accommodations. They have helped me tremendously, and I could not be more thankful.
My grades this semester? Amazing. How do I feel now? Fantastic. Not anxious, not sad, not exhausted, not confused and not scared. Everything is finally as it should be, and I would love nothing more than another chance at Queen’s to prove myself and get my degree. I would love nothing more than a clean slate, and to not be haunted by the failures that were out of my control, or by all the feelings that came with being on academic probation.

I am so happy to get to share my story with you and show you that I have not given up. I am so grateful to show you how proud of myself I am that I have persevered and driven myself to get the answers that I needed in order to succeed.

Thank you for taking the time to consider my situation,

Jess Salhany