Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: The purpose of this appeal is to provide an explanation for the grades that I obtained during the winter 2014 academic semester. It is my hope to outline the trials and tribulations that I faced during that semester which lead to my poor academic performance.

Hindsight has provided me the benefit of looking back at my past self in critical examination. When I first entered Queen's I was admittedly distracted, preoccupied, and overwhelmed. I was not mature enough to be a student, let alone a student athlete. In my first year, the overwhelming sense of pride that I felt from playing on the football team took precedence over my academic work. As a result, my grades reflected this and my academic confidence started to plummet. To make matters worse, my football career at Queen's did not turn out as I had anticipated. After forgoing the opportunity to travel back home to Saudi Arabia over the summer in order to train for football, I sustained a serious concussion during training camp of my second year, in 2012. Although the symptoms cleared up in a matter of weeks, the concussion that I sustained marked the beginning of a downwards spiral for me in many regards.

I simply did not feel like the same person. I was slowly in decline, academically, on the sports field, and socially. The gut-wrenching disappointment of having worked so hard and having sacrificed so much, only to have things cut short in an instant, weighed so heavily on my mind that I become despondent. Despondence turned to depression and I turned away. I quit the football team, I shut out my housemates and closest friends, and I isolated myself. Having lost my true passion in life, I consulted a healthcare professional at the La Salle building, who gave me great advice, and provided me with documentation, however the depression persisted. I barely had enough confidence academically to say a single word in class. I felt like I had nobody at all to turn to. I was able to skype my family, but they were physically so far away. When second year ended I was hopeful to go home and recover from my turbulent year in the presence of my family. However, this was not the case. I was not able to obtain a family visit visa in an adequate time and had to spend the summer months in Kingston in further isolation, because I had nowhere else to go. I did my best to keep myself together, but the damage was already done. Although I put on a brave face when the academic year 2013/2014 rolled around, inside I was filled with frustration and depression. I wanted to give up, and so I did. I did not turn to anybody, because at the time, I was the only person who I could count on. I was the only person who could possibly understand what I was going through.

I began to self-medicate and escape from reality with marijuana, using it quite heavily over the course of third year. Academically, my grades were just as bad as they had always been. I lost my catharsis in the form of football, so my depression compounded exponentially. By the winter semester 2014, I had stopped going to class entirely. what is the point I would constantly ask myself. Some days, I would just stare at my ceiling, in bed for the entire morning. In the winter semester 2014, I did not write a single midterm. I did not write any final exams. I barely attended any lectures. My hopelessness and depression was so extreme that I was in a state of uselessness. By the end of the academic year, I was understandably required to withdraw for a full academic year.

Again, hindsight is such a wonderful thing. In hindsight, I can say that being required to withdraw was one of the best things that could have happened to me. At the time, I did not have the courage to admit that I was in so much turmoil inside, and admit that I needed a change of setting. When the decision was made for me, I was forced to acknowledge the fact that it was best. When I accepted this, I matured as a person. I spent the year working, being accountable for myself, and not living in the past and allowing my past disappointments to dictate my future. When I returned to Queen's, I was able to fully appreciate the fact that I could study at such prestigious institution. I stopped taking my academics for granted, and I renewed my focus. I can honestly say that my year away from school was absolutely necessary. However, I can also say, with complete conviction, that the academic year 2013/2014 was not an accurate reflection of me as a student. It was a turbulent year that reached a fever-pitch in the winter semester. It was a year plagued with depression and isolation and was therefore not an accurate representation of my academic ability. I ask that you please consider what I have written, and remove these grades from my transcript.