Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Dear. Dr. Benard

Hello, my name is Madison Brauer. I have been asked to take a year off for the reason that my GPA is not at Queens standards. I understand it is a complete privilege to attend this university, but my actions have shown different. Throughout the year, it has been a very difficult time for me. I am not a person to ask for much help and I do not like resorting to talking about my problems to others. As a result, I kept a private life with problems to myself when now, I know I should have sought out the appropriate help to the Queen¿¿s staff to keep my head above water and assist me to guide to the right path. I am appealing the decision to have me leave Queen¿¿s University for a year with a pleading heart to hope you will understand why my marks were not up to par.

As I was sent off to Queen¿¿s Frosh week went by, and just one week of classes when I got a call from my father saying he had a doctor¿¿s appointment in KGH. As I am the only family near, I went to keep him company, as we both thought it was just a check up. But, when the doctor came out, he told us some shocking news that my father would have to go into surgery right away for his heart. My dad asked me not to tell my mother quite yet. A little stressed out as to what to do, I of course stayed with him and missed all classes later. As he came out of surgery four hours later, the doctor looked frazzled and told me a million bad things about the heart injury my dad had developed and he expected me to understand. I instantly started panicking as he told me my father would not be leaving for awhile to come as he needed a six-bypass open heart surgery and his chances of living were about 10. It feels as if your life flashes before you realizing your time with your father is too short. After all of this, I then informed my mother about what was happening. The whole family was in the hospital later that evening. My family was in the most fragile state that I had ever seen them in. My mother refused to leave my dad¿¿s side as did my siblings. Seeing potentially only having weeks left with my father, I put school work and classes on the back burner. There was no way I could think about school right then. I had to step up for my father and be strong for the family. No emotion and no tears. I just had to be there to make decisions for my father and to help with their own business back home.

While all of this was going, I did my best to keep up with assignments and labs. When I did however miss a lab because I was with my dad all night until morning, I attempted to talk to my TA in chemistry who went on to say: ¿¿That¿¿s your own problem, not ours.¿ I from then on assumed this was going to be the response whenever I told someone I was behind due to current events. So, I was discouraged and felt as though I could never keep up or catch up. I could not go to classes as I had to be with my father so I was behind in knowledge as well as my work. Nearing his surgery, I felt hopeless as I was preparing to lose my father and was thinking what life would be like without him. At the same time, I tried to be positive, but I knew if he made it through, he would be far from out of the woods for months to come. My mother was falling apart but I had to be strong. My dad had his final talk with me telling me to help the family get through this if it went bad, as in he wouldn¿¿t make it. He also said if he was to be but on any life support device, I would be the only one to let him go because he trusted me to go through with it. Putting up a strong front was the hardest thing I ever done. I was miserable with fear and I couldn¿¿t think of anything else. He went into surgery and we all waited for hours. It felt like forever but finally a doctor came to us. My dad had made it through. He had been preparing for a long time to go into his surgery but with a few flat lines and complications he managed to make it out alive.

Relief blew over me but after he was out, there was so much that had to be done to care for him constantly. My mother then needed to take back her responsibilities back at home with my younger brother and my parent¿¿s business. I then was the only one in close proximity so I was the only one in charge of taking care of my father making sure nothing went sideways and making sure he was comfortable and taking his medicine. With already the fear of almost losing him, I did not want to leave his side or risk anything again. I missed so much in school and I never reached out for help or support. I now know that is what I should have done, but I had other problems on my mind and my priority list. When he finally was able to go home, my mom needed me to come home to help out a lot. I was more at home then I was at Queens. My dad being a very private man and not liking to seem weak he would not let anyone help him outside my mother and I. So hiring help was out of the question, therefore I was needed so much. Being pulled in half, my family took precedence over school, and my mother needed me badly.

As things I thought would settle after Christmas, and I could get back on track, my horse I¿¿ve owned since I was eleven fell extremely ill. I know some may think this is just a horse and it shouldn¿¿t effect you as losing your dad would but something I hope you can understand is that this horse meant everything to me. It was my professional sport, my escape and my expression. At Queens, sports are taken very seriously and this sport is just as so to me. With everything still happening with my father, no one came with me to deliver my horse to a vet in Ottawa. I stayed a couple of days and then drove back and forth waiting for the okay to take him home when he got better. But that okay never happened, instead it was a call to come up immediately with no explanations. When I got there the vet was emotional and said there was nothing else to be done and I had to make a decision. I have never had to make life ending decision regarding something I loved so much. With no one else to help me, I finally broke down. I held my horse¿¿s head as he passed slowly. To say I felt sad was an understatement. I needed help. I fell very sick myself just from trying to keep my life from falling apart. Losing my horse felt like losing a whole part of myself. Horseback riding was who I was since I was a little girl. I would never want to replace my horse because no horse could ever compare to the friendship between him and I. And just like that it was taken out of my life. I was spiraling emotionally and physically. I developed insomnia and extreme migraines from the nightmares and completely set myself up for disaster. I was constantly throwing up and was unable to do simple tasks, therefore frequently going to the emergency department and family doctor to seek assistance. This continued throughout the remainder of the year. It¿¿s weird writing this as it feels just like it was yesterday. But mainly of how much I would have done differently. Getting help I so desperately needed, maybe even saving my horse if I was there for him. This whole past year at Queens feels like a failed year, but I tried so hard just to make it through.

I am asking and pleading you to reconsider me to give me a chance to do better. As I have controlled the mourning of my horse and my dad gets stronger every day, I know this year will be different. If anything like these events would happen now, I know now to seek help and let important Queen¿¿s staff know what is going on. I have matured greatly from these experiences and it has made me a stronger person today. I would be forever grateful to get a chance to come back this year and prove it to you all and myself that I can do better.

As for my marks and GPA, to try and move forward I ask to drop the failed CHEM 112 and to change all the other courses to just credits not marks. Having this done, I can start fresh and work my way through it from bottom to top. My plan if I was able to come back would be to work very hard in boosting all of my marks in all of my courses and even taking summer courses to further improve and learn of the subjects that I have missed. I hope greatly that these unwanted events that I have faced do not change the path I have set out for myself to achieve through my privileged education at Queens. I care so deeply for an education and Queens University. If you give me this chance, I will show you how much this is true and I will be so grateful. I promise you that I am ready and have never been so ecstatic to learn from great professors and take a hold on my future path at Queens.


Thank you for your time and consideration. I hope you will understand and you can give me this opportunity.

Regards
Madison Brauer