Manage Appeals
Petition Type: New
ID: 13305
Submitted: June 9, 2025 at 11:17:31 PM
First Name: Austin
Last Name: Stadel
Pronoun: He/Him
Preferred Name: Austin
Student Number: 10133341
Email: 13as199@queensu.ca
Degree Program: BA
Plan: ENGL
Level of Study: 3
Petition Categories
Petition Categories: Waive the requirement to withdraw for one year
Petition Letter
Petition Letter: Dear Dr. Stephenson, Associate Dean (Academic) Queen’s University,
I am petitioning the faculty’s decision that I must withdraw from Queen’s for a minimum of one year.
I have had a very tough time academically at Queen’s due to my struggles with mental health, the passing of a family member, and worsening chronic health conditions of other family members. These events combined with me constantly trying to take too many classes normally ended up with me being overwhelmed and exacerbated my mental health condition. However, for numerous reasons I believe I am equipped to succeed in my studies this upcoming year and am hoping to be ready to graduate at the end of the next summer semester.
I have recently gotten a new family doctor and have felt very supported by her. I have been doing very well, and I have come off medication that I have been taking for 5-6 years. It has been a few months off my medication now and I have been doing exceptionally well. I have learned more to lean on my various support systems, and I am much more comfortable speaking about my mental health and receiving support for it if necessary. I believe that with this support even if my condition worsens, I will finally feel comfortable seeking the help I require before it majorly impacts my studies.
I have come up with what I believe is a very manageable plan for my academic future and thoroughly believe I will be able to complete it and graduate next year. I am much better at recognizing my own limitations and am planning to take reduced course loads, so I do not get overwhelmed and worsen my mental health. In the 2025 winter semester I completed my first course in many years and was very proud. I am currently taking another course this summer and will be planning to take a reduced course load of 3 courses and 4 courses in the fall and winter semester.
I do also feel it is pertinent to mention that I also submitted a petition to drop my fall courses after the deadline due to extenuating circumstances I experienced in the fall term. The petition number is 13203. The reason I bring this up is because without those courses I will have only taken 12 units since my last evaluation. I hope this can be considered as I should be below the 18 units still for revaluation. I am certain that if given the chance to attend Queen’s next year that I will be able to raise my GPA to a respectable level and complete my degree.
The biggest detriment to my academic career at Queen’s has been my mental health and my aversion and fear of speaking about it and receiving help. I finally feel that I have a doctor who is supportive of my mental health, and I have been doing exceptionally well. I plan to continue meeting with her regularly throughout the year to ensure my wellbeing and capability to continue my studies. I also have a larger support network now to help me with my condition. If given the opportunity to continue next year at Queen’s I know I will be able to focus on my studies and put in the work required to complete my degree.
Thank you so much for your time and consideration in this matter,
Austin Stadel
I am petitioning the faculty’s decision that I must withdraw from Queen’s for a minimum of one year.
I have had a very tough time academically at Queen’s due to my struggles with mental health, the passing of a family member, and worsening chronic health conditions of other family members. These events combined with me constantly trying to take too many classes normally ended up with me being overwhelmed and exacerbated my mental health condition. However, for numerous reasons I believe I am equipped to succeed in my studies this upcoming year and am hoping to be ready to graduate at the end of the next summer semester.
I have recently gotten a new family doctor and have felt very supported by her. I have been doing very well, and I have come off medication that I have been taking for 5-6 years. It has been a few months off my medication now and I have been doing exceptionally well. I have learned more to lean on my various support systems, and I am much more comfortable speaking about my mental health and receiving support for it if necessary. I believe that with this support even if my condition worsens, I will finally feel comfortable seeking the help I require before it majorly impacts my studies.
I have come up with what I believe is a very manageable plan for my academic future and thoroughly believe I will be able to complete it and graduate next year. I am much better at recognizing my own limitations and am planning to take reduced course loads, so I do not get overwhelmed and worsen my mental health. In the 2025 winter semester I completed my first course in many years and was very proud. I am currently taking another course this summer and will be planning to take a reduced course load of 3 courses and 4 courses in the fall and winter semester.
I do also feel it is pertinent to mention that I also submitted a petition to drop my fall courses after the deadline due to extenuating circumstances I experienced in the fall term. The petition number is 13203. The reason I bring this up is because without those courses I will have only taken 12 units since my last evaluation. I hope this can be considered as I should be below the 18 units still for revaluation. I am certain that if given the chance to attend Queen’s next year that I will be able to raise my GPA to a respectable level and complete my degree.
The biggest detriment to my academic career at Queen’s has been my mental health and my aversion and fear of speaking about it and receiving help. I finally feel that I have a doctor who is supportive of my mental health, and I have been doing exceptionally well. I plan to continue meeting with her regularly throughout the year to ensure my wellbeing and capability to continue my studies. I also have a larger support network now to help me with my condition. If given the opportunity to continue next year at Queen’s I know I will be able to focus on my studies and put in the work required to complete my degree.
Thank you so much for your time and consideration in this matter,
Austin Stadel
Academic Plan
Academic Plan: Academic Plan for Austin Stadel
Essential Components:
A) Are you registered in your desired degree plan or are you shadowing a plan that you do not yet meet the requirements for? Yes, I am registered in my desired degree plan.
B) I will be attending school full-time this coming year and will not be working during my studies.
C) I have had a challenging academic career at Queen’s due to mental health problems and family matters. I have been focusing on my health and have a new very supportive family doctor. I have also had troubles before due to attempting to take too many courses when I was not in a healthy state to do so. Moving forward I am going to focus on taking less courses and maintaining my mental health by better utilizing my support network and seeking help from my doctor early on if I have any further issues.
My current plan is to complete my summer course ECON 111 and continue working full time so that I can cover my tuition for the fall and winter semester. This will allow me to focus fully on my studies, and I believe this will set me up for the best chance of success. After my ECON course I will need a further 27 units to graduate with 18 being in English courses. My Plan is to take 3 courses in the fall, ENGL 237, and 281, and ECON 112. This will allow me an easier course load upon returning to full-time studies. In the winter I will take ENGL 259, 273, along with two other art sci courses. This will leave me with 6 units remaining which I plan to fill with ENGL 215 over the summer. I had planned to take ENGL 215 this summer, but as it is a full year 6 unit course, fitting it in while working full time has been challenging so I decided to drop it to focus on the less intensive 3 unit ECON 111.
Utilizing the GPA calculator on the Art Sci website I determined that if I can maintain a GPA of 2.02 on my remaining courses, I will be more than above the 1.6 GPA requirement for graduation. I believe this is more than achievable and I will be aiming to have a GPA higher than this to ensure I will be eligible to graduate. 4 of the courses I have planned to take I will be redoing, which will also greatly increase my GPA. I did not see any further courses that I could redo but I will double check again before registering to ensure that I retake any courses I can to further increase my GPA.
Moving forward into this coming Academic year I am determined to graduate and certain that I will be able to be successful in my studies. I successfully completed my first course in many years, and I also identified that ENGL 215 would be too much for me this semester and rather than deluding myself I decided to drop it to put more time into my other courses. I have been working with my new family doctor regarding my mental health struggles and have been doing very well. I recently came off my medication which was a huge step for me as I have been taking it for the past 5-6 years. I am more aware of my support network and am more comfortable reaching out early to my doctor if I am struggling so that I don’t repeat my previous mistakes. I have been feeling better in the past few months than I have in the previous many years. I am determined and excited for my upcoming classes and to complete my degree at Queen’s.
Essential Components:
A) Are you registered in your desired degree plan or are you shadowing a plan that you do not yet meet the requirements for? Yes, I am registered in my desired degree plan.
B) I will be attending school full-time this coming year and will not be working during my studies.
C) I have had a challenging academic career at Queen’s due to mental health problems and family matters. I have been focusing on my health and have a new very supportive family doctor. I have also had troubles before due to attempting to take too many courses when I was not in a healthy state to do so. Moving forward I am going to focus on taking less courses and maintaining my mental health by better utilizing my support network and seeking help from my doctor early on if I have any further issues.
My current plan is to complete my summer course ECON 111 and continue working full time so that I can cover my tuition for the fall and winter semester. This will allow me to focus fully on my studies, and I believe this will set me up for the best chance of success. After my ECON course I will need a further 27 units to graduate with 18 being in English courses. My Plan is to take 3 courses in the fall, ENGL 237, and 281, and ECON 112. This will allow me an easier course load upon returning to full-time studies. In the winter I will take ENGL 259, 273, along with two other art sci courses. This will leave me with 6 units remaining which I plan to fill with ENGL 215 over the summer. I had planned to take ENGL 215 this summer, but as it is a full year 6 unit course, fitting it in while working full time has been challenging so I decided to drop it to focus on the less intensive 3 unit ECON 111.
Utilizing the GPA calculator on the Art Sci website I determined that if I can maintain a GPA of 2.02 on my remaining courses, I will be more than above the 1.6 GPA requirement for graduation. I believe this is more than achievable and I will be aiming to have a GPA higher than this to ensure I will be eligible to graduate. 4 of the courses I have planned to take I will be redoing, which will also greatly increase my GPA. I did not see any further courses that I could redo but I will double check again before registering to ensure that I retake any courses I can to further increase my GPA.
Moving forward into this coming Academic year I am determined to graduate and certain that I will be able to be successful in my studies. I successfully completed my first course in many years, and I also identified that ENGL 215 would be too much for me this semester and rather than deluding myself I decided to drop it to put more time into my other courses. I have been working with my new family doctor regarding my mental health struggles and have been doing very well. I recently came off my medication which was a huge step for me as I have been taking it for the past 5-6 years. I am more aware of my support network and am more comfortable reaching out early to my doctor if I am struggling so that I don’t repeat my previous mistakes. I have been feeling better in the past few months than I have in the previous many years. I am determined and excited for my upcoming classes and to complete my degree at Queen’s.
Documentation
Professional Letter: MedicalDocumentation-0.jpg
Decision Letters
History
Originally submitted June 9, 2025 at 11:17:31 PM.
| Field | Reference | Old Value | New Value | Note | User | Date/Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| status | N/A | Received | Incomplete | waiting on results of another petition | Kerri Andrews | 2025-06-11 2:54:06 PM |
| status | N/A | Incomplete | In Review | Kerri Andrews | 2025-07-04 1:00:00 PM | |
| status | N/A | In Review | Granted | Kerri Andrews | 2025-07-07 4:05:13 PM | |
| associate_dean | N/A | Dorit Naaman (Associate Dean Academic) | Kerri Andrews | 2025-07-07 4:05:13 PM | ||
| decision_letter | N/A | N/A | Decision letter sent | Kerri Andrews | 2025-07-07 4:05:50 PM |