Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: My name is Alyssa Gravelle, I am currently starting my fourth year in Sociology with a minor in Health Studies but due my personal circumstances, I am in my 4th year at Queen's. I am formally requesting an appeal for FRENP11 and SOCY275 to be dropped after the deadline. During the Fall 2012 semester, I incurred a traumatic incident that affected my emotional physical and mental capacity. In October 2012, I was getting out a physical and verbal abusive relationship. On October 29th 2012, I filed a police report with the City of Kingston against my former partner. For the past several months I did not feel safe and secure living in Kingston. During this time, my anxiety levels were not manageable and I experienced severe panic attacks while pondering possible altercations with this individual. My marks for my courses were extremely poor, resulting in failing two out of my three courses. In the winter 2013 semester, I lowered my course schedule which allowed me to achieve better success during that semester. My mental state has improved since I no longer contact with my abuser.
I met with an academic advisor who was able to advise and guide me in the right direction to succeed in my academic pursuit. Although it will take me longer to complete my degree, I have a comfort level in knowing that I have a support system that will allow me to succeed. I have also been talking to a counselor about different coping mechanism to manage my anxiety and to live my life with less fear.
There has been a delay in requesting my appeal since last summer I was studying in the UK at Bader International Centre. I attend classes to make up my missing course credits to remedy my course failures in the Fall 2012. This past 2013-2014 school year, I was extremely busy keeping up with my courses to achieve high marks. While studying at the Bader International, I was able to develop better relationships with my professors and now able to seek assistance when required. My experience at Bader allowed me to realize that I am safe and that I should not live my life in fear but to take advantage of what life has to offer. This past school year is a strong example of how studying at Bader International helped me over come this fear and resulted in good marks.