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Petition Type: 3
ID: 4081
Submitted: January 4, 2018 at 12:15:08 AM
Relevant Petition: 3934
First Name: Caroline
Last Name: Uchida
Student Number: 20013909
Degree Program: BAH
Plan: PSYC
Level of Study: 2

Petition Categories

Petition Categories: Request credit (CR) standing in a course or courses
Code: ECON110
Term: Fall/Winter
Year: 2016
Petition Category: Request credit (CR) standing in a course or courses
Instructor's Name: Ian Cromb

Petition Letter

Petition Letter: Dear Dr. Jill Atkinson,

My name is Caroline Uchida and I am a second year Psychology student. I am kindly requesting to appeal my ECON110 mark that was completed in April of 2017. There are a few circumstances that attributed to my poor performance during my first year at Queen¿¿s.

As I had previously mentioned in my previous appeal to extend the appeal deadline, I had suffered from Depression and Anxiety before I had attended Queen¿¿s University, however, it was only until the previous year that I had sought out treatment. During this time frame, I was not only attempting to adjust to my new academic environment but my social one as well. Coming here, I did not have a stable support system, for I was just beginning to make new friends and I was the only individual of my graduating class to attend Queen¿¿s. This made it particularly difficult to reach out to others, as I did not feel completely comfortable talking to people I did not know very well about my ongoing problems. After a few months, I reached out to my Residence Don for some mental health resources, to which he pushed me in the direction of Freeman and Nadia in Victoria Hall. Because I had never spoken to a therapist or my family doctor about my thoughts and feelings, going through the process of attending therapy alone and not feeling comfortable enough to share this information with anyone on my floor made the whole experience more alienating and uneasy. And while I found that these appointments did help improve my overall mood, it was very difficult to book consistent visits because of the high demand.

As classes during second semester began to finish and exam season was approaching, I found myself in more of a frenzy to study and improve my ECON110 grade. I attended Course Crams held outside of the university with the hopes of clarifying confusing concepts and to better prepare me for the final exam. The duration of March was an extremely stressful time for me; I was unable to book any appointments at Victoria Hall due to increased demand and the stress of exams was really weighing on me. Additionally, because I was unaware that I was able to appeal my mark, there was more pressure to get a good mark on the exam to improve my overall grade. The combination of all this stress took a toll on my mental health, as I would have several panic attacks a day and thoughts of self-harm. It was an extremely overwhelming feeling, although I am now able to better manage my Depression and Anxiety with medication and cognitive behavioural therapy. As previously mentioned through my previous appeal and documentation, I had switched anti-depressants during the Fall 2017 semester and have begun seeking a more consistent treatment cycle. Despite still suffering from the symptoms of Depression and Anxiety, I am beginning to better manage my mood and behaviours and am in the process of becoming a healthier me.

Despite the events of my first year, only my Economics mark was severely impacted. Although I received a variety of B¿¿s during my first year, I believe my Economics mark suffered in comparison to my others because of the content. The assignments in my other courses (English, Politics, Health and Psychology) were more based off of essays and written assignments as opposed to work based off of mathematical concepts and theories. My other classes had more liberty with answers and marks; if you were able to organize and explain your thoughts properly and provide evidence in your written assignments, you had a stronger chance of getting more marks as opposed to having to know one definite answer. I am a much stronger writer than I am at math based subjects, which is why I found my other courses more comprehensible with regards to the content.

I just want to thank you again for taking the time to review my appeal and I hope you take into consideration the circumstances surrounding my appeal. Please note that all supporting documentation, whether it be appointment confirmations, prescriptions or letters from any of the individuals I¿¿ve seen are attached with my previous deadline appeal. Please do not hesitate to contact me for further clarification. Once again, I appreciate the time you have taken to review my appeal and hope to hear from you in the near future.

Kind regards,
Caroline Uchida

Documentation

Professional Letter Detail: Please refer to the documentation used in my previous deadline appeal, thank you.