Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Monday, July 16th, 2018
To the Associate Dean (Studies),



I am appealing to waive the one-term deadline to submit my appeal. I realize that the classes that I wish to later appeal for credit standing were completed two semesters ago, however, I have been experiencing personally crippling extenuating circumstances.

Within the past 20 or so months, I have been struggling with a mental health issue that was very new to me when it first appeared. Throughout the majority of my first year at Queen's, and still currently I have been suffering from extreme anxiety. The anxiety developed into depressive feelings, and eventually it became so challenging that I decided to take a short leave of absence from my studies. Although I took one semester off to focus on recovery, I still struggled to seek out professional help - due to the extreme stigma and lack of understanding that comes with mental health issues. The anxiety I have been facing was so severe that for a long period of time I could not tell anyone about the way I was feeling, which made the process so much harder. I feared the worst out of everything; telling my family or friends about my struggles, or simply seeing the doctor. It took breaking down many mental barriers to take the step towards help, and it took me a considerable period to do so. Eventually, after returning to my studies last winter semester I felt ready to finally make the step for the good of my own health. This summer I have had several appointments with my family physician, who has been helping with my recovery process.

For the future, I have many plans in place to help me cope with my anxiety and to help me succeed. As previously stated, I am currently meeting often with my physician to check on my progress. In addition, I have taken up a few cognitive behavioural therapy programs to help me get through this, and develop better coping strategies for my anxiety. I look forward to my future studies as a healthier student, and I thank you for your consideration of my personal appeal request.

Thank You,

Jessica Gregoire