Manage Appeals
Petition Type: New
ID: 3637
Submitted: June 26, 2017 at 11:40:04 AM
First Name: Ali
Last Name: Mumal
Student Number: 10184110
Email: 14ahm3@queensu.ca
Degree Program: BAH
Plan: ECON
Level of Study: 2
Petition Categories
Petition Categories: Waive the requirement to withdraw for one year
Petition Letter
Petition Letter: Dear Dr. Johanne Benard,
My name is Ali Mumal (ST 10184110) and I am writing to appeal the Faculty of Arts and Science¿¿s decision to withdraw from Queen¿¿s University for one year.
First of all, I sincerely apologize for my late appeal as I have been travelling in remote areas of Pakistan and have not had access to the internet, including my Queen¿¿s email. I just found out about the university¿¿s decision last week on June 19, 2017, when my parents received a letter from OSAP detailing that I have been asked to withdraw from the University for one year. I am writing this letter and the academic plan at the earliest opportunity I have had in the past week.
I understand that I have not done well enough to meet the standards of Queen¿¿s University but that is due to extenuating circumstances. My family has been going through a very difficult time in the past two years. Two years ago, my mother started having difficulty walking as her feet and legs hurt a lot. The doctors still are not sure what is wrong with her but for the last year and a half, she had been bedridden. Slowly, she has been able to regain her ability to walk and has even started working again. During that time, I was visiting her at home on weekends and trying to keep up with school work, exams, and tests. Taking care of her, the rest of my family and being in school in a different city altogether was very difficult, and I believe contributed to my abysmal performance at Queen¿¿s in first year. Additionally, my dad in October of 2016 was diagnosed with Parkinson¿¿s disease. My grandfather also had Parkinson¿¿s disease and therefore, it was confirmed we have familial Parkinson¿¿s, which also means that there is a good chance I will develop it. Learning about that really turned my world upside down and it gave me severe anxiety and depression. In fact, I remember learning about it the night before many of my midterms, and I couldn¿¿t focus at all the rest of the month and did terribly on the midterms. That is the reason why fall 2016 was a particularly difficult semester for me, and it reflected in my grades. I understand that there will always be extenuating issues, and I should not have let them interfere with my academic performance. However, I believe I deserve a second chance and would very much appreciate the opportunity to do so.
Since then, my dad has finally started seeing a Parkinson¿¿s disease specialist, and the drugs have helped reduce the symptoms and have allowed him to conduct normal daily activities again. I have also come to terms with the potential of developing this disease. After learning more about it, I understand it¿¿s not a fatal disease, and while it can be debilitating in some circumstances, there are good drugs out there currently to help control symptoms and there is a lot of research going on to try and find a cure. Conducting this research into Parkinson¿¿s has eased my concerns. Furthermore, my mom¿¿s health has also improved considerably over the past year as she can now do most activities. I am also on a waitlist to see a government-funded psychologist who can help me deal with anxiety and depression if I experience those symptoms again. Once at Queen¿¿s, I will also start seeing a mental health professional at the university in order to be able to keep my anxiety and depression in check. In my first semester back at Queen¿¿s, I will also take a lighter load in order to ease myself back and allow myself more time to focus on those particular courses and have regular appointments with academic advisors as the semester goes on to make sure that I am on track to do well at the University.
I really appreciate the opportunity to appeal the decision. I really do believe that if I am allowed back to the University then I will do much better this time around. I have attached our family doctor¿¿s letter and my academic plan for the next year.
Sincerely,
Ali Mumal
My name is Ali Mumal (ST 10184110) and I am writing to appeal the Faculty of Arts and Science¿¿s decision to withdraw from Queen¿¿s University for one year.
First of all, I sincerely apologize for my late appeal as I have been travelling in remote areas of Pakistan and have not had access to the internet, including my Queen¿¿s email. I just found out about the university¿¿s decision last week on June 19, 2017, when my parents received a letter from OSAP detailing that I have been asked to withdraw from the University for one year. I am writing this letter and the academic plan at the earliest opportunity I have had in the past week.
I understand that I have not done well enough to meet the standards of Queen¿¿s University but that is due to extenuating circumstances. My family has been going through a very difficult time in the past two years. Two years ago, my mother started having difficulty walking as her feet and legs hurt a lot. The doctors still are not sure what is wrong with her but for the last year and a half, she had been bedridden. Slowly, she has been able to regain her ability to walk and has even started working again. During that time, I was visiting her at home on weekends and trying to keep up with school work, exams, and tests. Taking care of her, the rest of my family and being in school in a different city altogether was very difficult, and I believe contributed to my abysmal performance at Queen¿¿s in first year. Additionally, my dad in October of 2016 was diagnosed with Parkinson¿¿s disease. My grandfather also had Parkinson¿¿s disease and therefore, it was confirmed we have familial Parkinson¿¿s, which also means that there is a good chance I will develop it. Learning about that really turned my world upside down and it gave me severe anxiety and depression. In fact, I remember learning about it the night before many of my midterms, and I couldn¿¿t focus at all the rest of the month and did terribly on the midterms. That is the reason why fall 2016 was a particularly difficult semester for me, and it reflected in my grades. I understand that there will always be extenuating issues, and I should not have let them interfere with my academic performance. However, I believe I deserve a second chance and would very much appreciate the opportunity to do so.
Since then, my dad has finally started seeing a Parkinson¿¿s disease specialist, and the drugs have helped reduce the symptoms and have allowed him to conduct normal daily activities again. I have also come to terms with the potential of developing this disease. After learning more about it, I understand it¿¿s not a fatal disease, and while it can be debilitating in some circumstances, there are good drugs out there currently to help control symptoms and there is a lot of research going on to try and find a cure. Conducting this research into Parkinson¿¿s has eased my concerns. Furthermore, my mom¿¿s health has also improved considerably over the past year as she can now do most activities. I am also on a waitlist to see a government-funded psychologist who can help me deal with anxiety and depression if I experience those symptoms again. Once at Queen¿¿s, I will also start seeing a mental health professional at the university in order to be able to keep my anxiety and depression in check. In my first semester back at Queen¿¿s, I will also take a lighter load in order to ease myself back and allow myself more time to focus on those particular courses and have regular appointments with academic advisors as the semester goes on to make sure that I am on track to do well at the University.
I really appreciate the opportunity to appeal the decision. I really do believe that if I am allowed back to the University then I will do much better this time around. I have attached our family doctor¿¿s letter and my academic plan for the next year.
Sincerely,
Ali Mumal
Academic Plan
Academic Plan: Academic Plan
1. Course of Study
I have come to realize, through my failures in courses for my economics degree, that I am not suited to do a major in Economics. I have known over the past few years that I wanted to switch from economics, which I didn¿¿t enjoy learning, to geology, which I have loved since I took it as an elective. However, I was not brave enough to do the switch when I wanted to, which was last summer. This has been a wake-up call for me to reorganize my life and pursue the degree that I want to do.
Therefore, I will be changing my degree plan from a Bachelor¿¿s of Arts in Economics to a Bachelor¿¿s of Science in Geology. I have already taken GEOL 104, which is the pre-requisite for most of the second year geology classes, as I had considered doing a minor in Geology. The courses I plan to enroll in next academic year (over two semesters) would be:
1. Geol 107 (re-take)
2. Geol 200 (pre-requisite Geol 104)
3. Geol 221 (pre-requisite Geol 104)
4. Geol 232 (pre-requisite Geol 104)
5. Geol 238 (pre-requisite Geol 104)
6. Geol 235 (pre-requisite Geol 104)
7. Geol 249 (pre-requisite Geol 104)
As I have already taken many economics courses, I can still apply for a minor in Economics. Due to this change, I will have to take an extra year to complete my degree. However, I would rather spend an extra year studying a subject that I love than finishing on time studying a subject that I am not interested in.
2. Full time vs. Part time
I would like to continue as a full time student. I do not have a part-time job, or any other activities that would interfere in my studies. I know that once I change my major and take classes that I completely enjoy, I will be able to bring up my grades. Therefore, I would like continue as a full-time student at Queen¿¿s University. I will only be taking 4-5 classes per semester.
3. Strategies for Success
My strategies for success for the next year are three-fold. I have outlined them here:
1. Change my major.
Going into my first year at Queen¿¿s, I believed that I wanted to do a major in economics and work in finance after I was done my Bachelor¿¿s. Since taking economics courses, I have realized that this is not something I enjoy studying about or would like to do for the rest of my life. I took geology as an elective and I enjoyed my classes for geology much more than I enjoyed any of my economics courses. I have not done as well as I would have liked in my geology courses, but that was because I was too stressed about economics as I could not understand what I was studying for my economics courses. As economics was my major, I spent way too much studying for those and ignored my other courses, including my geology courses. Despite not doing well in Geol 107, I continued to take other geology courses because I truly loved taking geology and found it fascinating. I know for a fact that now that I won¿¿t be taking economics courses and can focus solely on geology courses, I will do much better. I always looked forward to going to my geology courses and I always felt stressed going to my economics courses. Therefore, I know that changing my major to geology will be a huge strategy for my success.
2. Attend regular help sessions/office hours from my professors and my TAs.
One thing I have recognized is that I have been too proud to ask for help. Whether it was my mental health or the issues I was having with my courses. I have come to recognize that I am not the kind of person that can study without help from other people. Therefore, I will take advantage of the numerous office hours that are hosted by both professors and TAs. If I have a concept I have trouble understanding or an assignment I have trouble completing, I will go to those sessions and get help. This was a truly wake up call for me, and from now on, I will do my best to not be in this situation anymore.
3. Seek help from mental health professionals available to us at Queen¿¿s.
I went through a very rough period after my dad¿¿s diagnosis of familial Parkinson¿¿s disease. The fact that I might develop Parkinson¿¿s weighed heavily on me and caused me to develop anxiety and depression for many months. I have realized since then that it is important to access help when I am in a position where my mental health is not right. I am on a wait-list in Mississauga for a government-funded psychologist and I plan on using the resources available to us at Queen¿¿s so I can stay mentally healthy. I believe that now I that I have coped with my dad¿¿s diagnosis and come to terms with the fact that I might also develop Parkinson¿¿s, my anxiety and depression are not as high as they were and as long as I seek regular counselling, I believe that I can stay on track of my courses and do well at Queen¿¿s in the next academic year.
1. Course of Study
I have come to realize, through my failures in courses for my economics degree, that I am not suited to do a major in Economics. I have known over the past few years that I wanted to switch from economics, which I didn¿¿t enjoy learning, to geology, which I have loved since I took it as an elective. However, I was not brave enough to do the switch when I wanted to, which was last summer. This has been a wake-up call for me to reorganize my life and pursue the degree that I want to do.
Therefore, I will be changing my degree plan from a Bachelor¿¿s of Arts in Economics to a Bachelor¿¿s of Science in Geology. I have already taken GEOL 104, which is the pre-requisite for most of the second year geology classes, as I had considered doing a minor in Geology. The courses I plan to enroll in next academic year (over two semesters) would be:
1. Geol 107 (re-take)
2. Geol 200 (pre-requisite Geol 104)
3. Geol 221 (pre-requisite Geol 104)
4. Geol 232 (pre-requisite Geol 104)
5. Geol 238 (pre-requisite Geol 104)
6. Geol 235 (pre-requisite Geol 104)
7. Geol 249 (pre-requisite Geol 104)
As I have already taken many economics courses, I can still apply for a minor in Economics. Due to this change, I will have to take an extra year to complete my degree. However, I would rather spend an extra year studying a subject that I love than finishing on time studying a subject that I am not interested in.
2. Full time vs. Part time
I would like to continue as a full time student. I do not have a part-time job, or any other activities that would interfere in my studies. I know that once I change my major and take classes that I completely enjoy, I will be able to bring up my grades. Therefore, I would like continue as a full-time student at Queen¿¿s University. I will only be taking 4-5 classes per semester.
3. Strategies for Success
My strategies for success for the next year are three-fold. I have outlined them here:
1. Change my major.
Going into my first year at Queen¿¿s, I believed that I wanted to do a major in economics and work in finance after I was done my Bachelor¿¿s. Since taking economics courses, I have realized that this is not something I enjoy studying about or would like to do for the rest of my life. I took geology as an elective and I enjoyed my classes for geology much more than I enjoyed any of my economics courses. I have not done as well as I would have liked in my geology courses, but that was because I was too stressed about economics as I could not understand what I was studying for my economics courses. As economics was my major, I spent way too much studying for those and ignored my other courses, including my geology courses. Despite not doing well in Geol 107, I continued to take other geology courses because I truly loved taking geology and found it fascinating. I know for a fact that now that I won¿¿t be taking economics courses and can focus solely on geology courses, I will do much better. I always looked forward to going to my geology courses and I always felt stressed going to my economics courses. Therefore, I know that changing my major to geology will be a huge strategy for my success.
2. Attend regular help sessions/office hours from my professors and my TAs.
One thing I have recognized is that I have been too proud to ask for help. Whether it was my mental health or the issues I was having with my courses. I have come to recognize that I am not the kind of person that can study without help from other people. Therefore, I will take advantage of the numerous office hours that are hosted by both professors and TAs. If I have a concept I have trouble understanding or an assignment I have trouble completing, I will go to those sessions and get help. This was a truly wake up call for me, and from now on, I will do my best to not be in this situation anymore.
3. Seek help from mental health professionals available to us at Queen¿¿s.
I went through a very rough period after my dad¿¿s diagnosis of familial Parkinson¿¿s disease. The fact that I might develop Parkinson¿¿s weighed heavily on me and caused me to develop anxiety and depression for many months. I have realized since then that it is important to access help when I am in a position where my mental health is not right. I am on a wait-list in Mississauga for a government-funded psychologist and I plan on using the resources available to us at Queen¿¿s so I can stay mentally healthy. I believe that now I that I have coped with my dad¿¿s diagnosis and come to terms with the fact that I might also develop Parkinson¿¿s, my anxiety and depression are not as high as they were and as long as I seek regular counselling, I believe that I can stay on track of my courses and do well at Queen¿¿s in the next academic year.
Documentation
Professional Letter: Doctors Report-0.pdf
Professional Letter Detail: Family doctor's letter
Decision Letters
History
Originally submitted June 26, 2017 at 11:40:04 AM.
| Field | Reference | Old Value | New Value | Note | User | Date/Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| status | N/A | Received | Prepared for Review | Carrie Roosenmaalen | 2017-06-27 10:39:53 AM | |
| status | N/A | Prepared for Review | In Review | Spring Forsberg | 2017-07-05 1:47:46 PM | |
| status | N/A | In Review | Granted | Spring Forsberg | 2017-07-21 12:20:47 PM | |
| associate_dean | N/A | Johanne Benard, Ph.D. | Spring Forsberg | 2017-07-21 12:20:47 PM | ||
| decision_letter | N/A | N/A | Decision letter sent | Spring Forsberg | 2017-07-21 12:21:33 PM |