Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Appeal Letter: Dear Board of Studies,

I hope this letter finds you well. I’m writing to appeal the Academic Dean’s decision that I must withdraw from Queen’s for a year.

The decision made by the Academic Dean stated that I did not include sufficient documentation explaining what impacted my performance in the academic year. I have left Canada to reunite with my family in China by April, and therapy services at Queen’s are only available in person, which means I cannot access Student Wellness services to form new documentation as evidence. Student Wellness has also gone through a system change in the summer, which, unfortunately, I cannot access in China. In addition, my therapist, Shannon Bovey, is no longer working in SWS, and because of that, I cannot access my files directly and ask for supporting documents. Personally, I don’t think it’s fair to deny my request due to lack of documentation because of the very fact that they are unavailable to me and will not be available until I’m back in Canada.

What happened during the winter term, I will explain clearly, which is my grandfather’s passing, which triggered my trauma response and resulted in a long depressive mental episode outburst that forbade me from focusing on my academics because I was barely keeping myself alive. I am an international student, and long-term being away from home, family, and friends builds into loneliness, and the continuing loss of family members made it worse. My maternal grandfather passed away during covid lockdown because of stomach cancer, and due to the lockdown, my mother and I could not be by his side when he needed us the most. My maternal grandmother passed away only four months after, and I heard it was suicide. So, the ongoing sickness my paternal grandfather was experiencing during December last year made me very anxious, because it reminded me of how my maternal grandparents passed away, and those were very awful memories. My grandfather’s passing in January left me heartbroken, especially when I could not go back home and be by my family’s side when both they and I needed support. I could not eat, speak, or even move much, locked myself in my room most of the time, and was not able to attend class, nor therapy sessions, even though I knew it was good for me. I dissociated with life, and everything else was so blurry as time went by without notice, so I was in an unhealthy solitary state for a long time. This state forbids me from doing anything productive, and so I did not pay attention to course dropping deadlines because my mind was preoccupied with mourning.

My therapist told me that mourning is a process; all it takes is sufficient time, so after all these months, I’ve gotten well enough to support myself to continue a more normal life. I reunited with my family, have enough medication, which I’m having a much-reduced amount indicating that my mental illness is well controlled, and I’m seeing doctors at a regular rate. Physically, I am sleeping regularly, my appetite returning normal, and I get some exercise each day. In addition, I have pulled out time to accomplish not just one, but two internships, because I want to continue my studies at Queens, and am prepping myself for September. I have learned lots from the internship, especially on how to maintain and balance myself. I also have made plans academically, which will be discussed with counsellors, and carried out when I am back in Canada. I believe actions speak louder than words, and the fact that I was able to accomplish two internships speaks to my ability, performance, and stability of my state.

I have no issue in saying that I have never been so ready before. All these years in fighting with depression, I have never felt so alive until now, because I have finally found a reason to live, and keep living. I am eager to return, and I know that I must return, to catch up with the years spent searching for the cure to my mental illness. I have found a cure now, forged a flame in my heart, and I wholeheartedly hope the Board of Studies can consider this and keep this flame named life inside my heart burning.

Thank you so much for your consideration.

Sincerely,
Quan Sun
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