Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Dear Dr. Bénard:

I am a second-year undergraduate student at Queens, currently taking time away from campus to address some mental health issues. Toward the end of the Fall 2017 semester I began experiencing extreme anxiety and depression. Due to these difficulties, I found myself unable to focus on my studies. Ultimately, I experienced a panic attack so severe, I temporarily lost feeling in my arm. I immediately sought help from the Queens Student Wellness Services office. After explaining my situation, they agreed that it was best for me to head home as soon as possible to pursue mental health counseling, which resulted in missing two of my final exams. I met with a Queen's academic counselor and arranged to take a one-semester leave of absence.

I have spent the last several months working hard to address issues of anxiety and depression. In the process, I have also been evaluated and diagnosed with several learning difficulties that I was unaware of before. I have been fortunate to have this time to address those issues, working with professionals teaching me skills to help me be a better student. I plan to continue both mental health treatment and learning programs throughout the summer so that I can be a much happier, healthier, stronger student when I return to Queens at the end of the summer.

My psychologist, Dr. Sophia Havasy with The Tarnow Center in Houston, Texas, has written and submitted a letter to the Academic Counseling office explaining my situation with exact diagnoses. I am attaching a copy of her letter here. Please let me know if you would like to contact her for more information. I also have extensive documentation further explaining my learning difficulties. If you need to see that, I am happy to share it with you.

I have enrolled in an online summer class that will begin in July. I look forward to being able to use some of the new learning skills I have become familiar with. I am happy for the opportunity to add a few credits to my transcript while hopefully performing well enough to help raise my G.P.A. a little bit.

I am hoping that you will take these factors into account when looking back at my grades from last semester. You will see that I started the semester out well, getting good grades and completing all of my work. I respectfully request that you consider granting me Aegrotat Standing with Credit for the classes from Fall 2017.

Jake Ahearne
16ja28@queensu.edu
Student ID: 20039207