Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: My name is Candice O'Rourke, and I am appealing the request to waive the withdraw for one year. After registering last year, I was very eager to continue my studies in the social work field. Just coming out of college with my mind still fresh I wanted to complete my psychology degree, in order to a position with the probation office that Ive wanted since I was little. Unfortunately, within the first month of studies I was bombarded with a lot of personal issues that I had to deal with. I have 3 small children at home and try my best to look after them as well as attempt to make a good life for them by continuing my education in order to get a good job to be able to provide for them, and give them the things I never had. My childrens father however, attempted to take them away from me on one of his permitted days he had with them. I had caught him attempting to flee with my kids up north which was 8 hours away. If I had not caught him when I did, he would of left, as he had the u-haul packed up and everything. Because of this situation I had to hire a lawyer to deal with this matter in hopes he could persuade a judge to not let him leave with my children. Dealing with all of this I was tremendously stressed out and could not focus on my studies at that time. My children were way more important to me and I wanted to do everything in my power to try and get them to stay. I had to push my studies aside in order to deal with this matter effectively and I put all my time and effort into this because it meant the most to me. It all started approximately near the end of October and finally ended in May when me and my ex were able to come to an agreement re my children. With all of this stress it caused me to not eat, sleep and gave me tons of anxiety. Starting university, especially distance studies I was not aware about the withdrawl deadlines nor the proper way to withdraw from classes. I completely did not expect anything like this to happen. When all of this was occurring my luck turned for the worst again as my computer stopped working as well. I had to send it in for repair. Therefore, it was very hard to continue to check my solus account and to keep up with emails and so forth. It is stil in the process of getting fixed but was made aware it should be done next week. I have talked to my lawyer about providing a supporting document and he has agreed to write me up a letter and fax it to you. I am going to see him again this coming Monday and it should be ready to be faxed. All I ever wanted in life was to get a great education and show my kids that anything is possible. There father does not currently have a job nor did he even complete high school, so I am trying to set an example for my children. I know things happen in life that are sometimes out of your control but I'm trying my best to fix this situation and continue on with my studies. Now that things are dealt with, I will be able to focus now on what needs to be done and will be able to get the degree that I have worked so hard to get. I'm sorry that I did not withdraw from my classes the way I was suppose to, but like I said in this circumstance my mind was just not focused on that as much as it was my kids. I'm still learning the ropes on how to use my Solus and how to check me emails on the website. I understand¿ now that their are deadlines you need to meet and know now going forth the proper way to do things. It was an honest mistake, and I am truly sorry for the way I handled it. My education is everything to me and I hope you will allow me to continue my studies this fall. I want to prove to everyone who said I would not succeed nor had the brains to be successful. When it is all said and done however, I want to mainly prove it to myself and say I did it. I want to be able to show my kids when you work hard anything is possible. I am more focused then I have ever been before and I am eager to begin once again.