Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Morgan Benoit
47 Division Street, 2
Kingston, ON K7L 3L8
15mab1@queensu.ca

June 19th, 2017

Dr. Johanne Bénard
Queen¿¿s University
Facility of Arts and Science
Dunning Hall
94 University Ave.
Kingston, ON K7L 3N9

SUBJECT: Request for Appeal of Dismissal and Late Withdrawal

Dear Dr. Johanne Bénard,

I am writing to formally appeal against dismissal of my final grades in HLTH 230 and 237, CHEM 211, CHEM 212, CHEM 213, CHEM 221, CHEM 222, in addition for a late withdrawal from two courses ¿¿ CHEM 212, CHEM 321 and MATH 112 as necessitated by my generalized anxiety disorder. I admit I had a very difficult time the past two semesters, and my grades suffered as a result. I do not mean to make excuses for my poor academic performance, but I would like to explain the circumstances. I have included a personal account as well as documentation from several medical professionals who cared for me as proof. Personally, I hold Queen¿¿s University in the highest regards as far as universities go; I have come to cherish the diverse atmosphere the university holds. It is in this high-esteem for the university and the community that I write this candid letter, I admit that I did make a mistake and I am here to fix it.

Things began to veer off course since beginning my Bachelor¿¿s degree. As first year progressed, my grandmother¿¿s health was one of my primary concerns as she was suffering from primary liver cancer. Therefore, with every break I had, I returned home to care for my grandmother as she began to get more and more sick. This slowly but surely began to mentally pick away at me, because my grandmother was the closest person to me and the thought of losing her ate away at me. I began to feel a sense of grief that I could not shake and with all of the problems that had come to pass, I was mentally exhausted. When I lost my grandmother on August 5th, 2016, my world came crashing down, I was truly lost within myself. It was a time where I just could not do anything right, therefore, I looked for professional help. Second year was certainly not ideal for me and brought me to my breaking point and back. I made many mistakes that I have learned from since then, and have every intention of putting my best foot forward. In the 2016 Fall term I took a full course load; however, due to encountering an anxiety attack during my CHEM 213 examination I deferred two of my following examinations providing my professors with medical documentation of this issue. Both professors ¿¿ Philip Jessop and Avena Ross, granted me permission for examination deferral to be taken in the 2017 Winter term. As a result of my performance on the deferred examinations, I unfortunately did not pass CHEM 212, therefore, I was unable to complete CHEM 223 in the Winter 2017 term.

I did not realize the extent of the impact of this illness until after I failed CHEM 212, in which I sought more intensive medical help, while I continued with a full course load in chemistry in the Winter 2017 term. The Winter 2017 semester was a crucial time for me to develop and do exactly what I was obligated to do. I worked so hard for the grades I received to try to push past the adversity that I had recently faced. During the semester I attended all lectures, tutorials, and laboratory experimentations, in addition to undertaking all the required preparation materials. I also completed all the assessment components and my average results were quite high. My performance across these units is usually in the range of 70 to 100 percent and I have generally made good progress through my studies, besides on the testing components. I experienced a heightened level of anxiety during the Fall 2016 and Winter 2017 examination periods, feeling as though my mind suddenly goes blank, and the sensation of my chest feeling tights and my heart beating faster. At some points I also experienced nervous tension throughout different areas of my body. As so many others suffering this disorder, my anxiety manifests itself as a sense of fear and worry until I am unable to think. I understand the challenges posed in qualifying and assigning my illness as reasoning of appeal. That said, I am not misdiagnosed. My anxiety problems make it impossible to function in an setting that involves high levels of pressure and stress, fearing the unknown.

I know that I have had a couple of setback, and I apologize to you for the feeling as if I wasted your time for my poor academic performances. I have specially apologized to myself for letting myself down time and time again. I understand you are trying to run an institution of higher learning, and¿you are trying to set everything to a fair standard for every student. Lately, due to the events that I have¿encountered I sat down with myself to reevaluate my mistakes and the changes I am going to make moving forward, looking at these obstacles as barriers for myself to learn and grow as an individual. I have devised a plan to make sure that I reach academic¿success. I spoke to a psychiatrist prior to the past examination period, who stated that the medication that I was on at that point in time was ineffective and further prescribed me a new medication. Due to the closeness of my examinations, she suggested to not start the new medication until the summer with the guidance of my family practitioner in Aurora, Ontario. With this being said, I have recently begun this new medication on a low dosage, and will be continuing to increase the dosage until the correct amount is reached to counteract my anxiety symptoms. I sincerely believe that being on inaccurate medication during the past examination periods had a strong correlation to my poor performance. My hope for the future is that this new medication, specified for anxiety, will be able to lessen the extent of my symptoms to be able to perform to the best of my abilities. Additionally, this coming year I am not only¿visiting my professors during their office hours, but asking for¿assurances in preparing for final examinations. Not cramming for examinations; not spending time with classmates who generate stress for myself on test day; and not staying up late studying the night before and stopping my studying twelve hours before the examinations or testing. This will help clear my mind of distraction and increase information recall during the test. And last, but certainly not least, I am going to make sure that I receive¿counselling or talk to someone if undergoing something that I cannot handle and is a danger to my mental health.¿Some possibly helpful cognitive and behavioral strategies that I am going to try are guided imagery and visualization techniques, meditation, and mindfulness.

Like I have mentioned in the letter I¿have been through a lot of hardships the last year but, I will leave my past in the past and only look forward from here on out. I love Queen¿¿s¿University and want to graduate from here in 2019; I have nothing but respect for the facility and the staff that work at this wonderful institute. My personal belief is¿¿¿knowledge is a key to success¿. When it comes to pursuing knowledge, I am a kind of person who has strong perseverance and never let anything put me down. I always do the best of my ability to overcome any hurdles on my path. With this attitude and strong passion for chemistry, I believe, I have potential to¿become a successful student.¿My education is everything to me and I know the¿continuing my studies at Queen¿¿s University is what I need to reach my pinnacle of success in life and I am willing to fight for it and do whatever is¿necessary to get back on track towards a successful¿future.¿

I sincerely hope that this appeal shows that I am dedicated to being a successful student here at Queen¿¿s University. The documents enclosed by my medical professionals only support my claim, despite my best efforts to successfully complete my courses, CHEM 211, 212, 213, 221, 222, and 321; MATH 112; and HLTH 230 and 237. Please do not use only my past as a barometer for my success in the future. I appreciate your kind consideration.

Sincerely,
Morgan Benoit
ID 10194641

Enclosed: Dr. Alice CN Wong Letter; Dr. Debra Hamer Psychiatry Consultation Report; Student Wellness
Services Documentation