Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Stephen Zhao
233 Johnson St,
Kingston ON K7L1Y2

July 6th, 2017

Associate Dean
Faculty of Arts and Science, Queen's University
99 University Avenue,
Kingston, ON K7L 3N6

Dear Associate Dean,

I am appealing the Faculty's Requirement to Withdraw for a Minimum of Three Years, as stated in the letter dated May 23rd, 2017.

I have been fortunate during the summer of 2015 to be allowed to continue my studies, bypassing my requirement to withdraw at the time. With that chance, I successfully made big improvements in my study habits, healthy living, and career direction. I achieved higher, more acceptable grades while still in the process of improvement, and even acquired a professional internship the following summer in 2016 in the field of applied Physics. My life had went from total despair (since 2010) to being reformed and full of hope, which is why my last years performance may confuse those who offered guidance to me in the past. However due to an extenuating circumstance that took place midst the fall term of 2016, I was reduced to ruin.

Since the beginning of the past academic year 2016-2017, my grandmother suddenly fell ill, and fought to survive through thick and thin for many months before her passing in the middle of the winter term. In the beginning of October 2016, she suddenly lost the ability to breathe and had to be hospitalized with neck pipes under doctor/nurse supervision 24/7. At this time, intensity grew within my family but I was still able to be in Kingston for the most part and complete my school work. Then starting mid November 2016, a couple of weeks past the course drop deadline, she got a dysfunctional lung, shortly followed by shattered hips, and a series of other conditions, which arose rapidly one after another, as a result of her weakened body. Throughout the entirety of December 2016 and January 2017, she experienced multiple heart failures, where the doctors told us that we should prepare our hearts, but she pulled through each time until March 3, 2017 when she passed away. Throughout this time, between mid November and halfway through the winter semester; my mother took multiple lengthy leaves of absence from work, and I went to be together with her as we experienced immense sorrow, grief, and mourning, in isolation from everything else. This caused me to have no ability to continue function in pursuing my studies properly which led to me demise at the end of my Fall 2016 term. I even departed from my social circles for the time being. All of my other grandparents have passed away now, but her death had the most significant impact on me, as she was the one who raised me since I was born while both my parents worked away from home. There were many series of ups and downs, and I could not put my mind anywhere outside of the family matter and could not focus on my academics and career development.

Throughout the past few years at Queen's, I have been given opportunities to improve my academics; to succeed. From my last appeal encounter, I took the advice given to me, from the Associate Deans I have met, very seriously; and approached course load, deadlines, and academic regulations with great caution. I took responsibility to check my academic status and the rules to ensure I was not at risk again. Which is why came Winter 2017, I made the decision to take a part time course load in order to have more time to spend with my mother. I was not sure of what was going to happen with my academic status, and I am aware that some rules and regulations are often complicated beyond my knowledge. For the sake of clarity and confirmation, I booked an appointment with Academic Adviser Heather Carter during the early March of 2017 before the course drop deadline, to discuss my academic probation.

Ms. Heather Carter has confirmed with me multiple times throughout our meeting in March 2017--that this year, I would not be assessed due to Academic Regulation 13.1 for I had a course load of 15.0 units. Being shocked from receiving the requirement to withdraw in May 2017, I contacted Heather Carter because the situation is different from what she had promised. She had admitted her mistake for misinforming me during our meeting, after the decision in May 2017 had been made to require me to withdraw, which had come to this situation. Had she told me the accurate information, I would not have been complacent with the assessment being taken place with the 15.0 units I had during that academic year, and would have naturally been more inclined, despite the grief I was experiencing, to take appropriate academic actions. However instead, I took the reassurance from Ms. Carter to continue to spend time with my mother through this difficult time. My mother has never broken down so severely in the past, so I made sure to be together with her during this time of grief and mourning, throughout the Fall and Winter semesters.

For myself, graduating from Queen's University with a Physics Degree is a life determining milestone which I have always had every intention to cross, now even more than ever. Spending the time with my mother has helped me recover from the tragedy of my grandmother's death, and I am back on a positive slope academically and emotionally. I am enrolled in three courses this Summer 2017 term, receiving As and Bs throughout my assessments and midterms. I also performed well in MATH 225 this summer, achieving 100 on my first midterm, but dropped it with the intention of taking it (MATH 231, the course equivalent class) concurrently with my physics courses in the upcoming semester for better performance. I am confident in achieving acceptable final grades in all of my summer courses, as well as in most of the classes I intend to take in the future. I have also planned my academics for the upcoming two years to complete my degree. I have been regularly taking my ADHD medication to assure my mental focus. I am also in the process of signing up for regular Learning Strategy appointments at SASS. Now that I am once again functional, I plead to the Associate Deans for understanding of my circumstances, and the chance to continue my studies (where I really left off), as I am ready to continue pursuing the Physics Degree, and the professional career that I am unconditionally determined to achieve.

Sincerely,

Stephen Zhao