Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Dear Dr. Johanne Bénard, Associate Dean of Studies,

I am appealing to drop FREN 342 (Fall 2017), ENGL 340 (Fall 2017-Winter 2018), and ENGL 321 (Fall 2017-Winter 2018).

I have always been a keen learner, and have been able to find as much enjoyment learning in class as I have from self-initiated projects. I really enjoy school and take pride in completing my assignments to the absolute best of my abilities. For most of my life, this has resulted in high academic achievement, for instance, maintaining a 95 average throughout high school. Last year, starting around mid-October, I began to experience a shift in mood that affected my academic performance and my ability to complete assignments. I felt incredibly lonely and lacked the motivation to get work done. To combat/avoid these feelings, I would often sleep. My sleeping habits changed dramatically so that I was napping between classes, sleeping from 5-10pm, and then again from 3-8am. I was excessively tired, but was sleeping upwards of 12 hours a day. My days and nights seemed reversed, and it only heightened my sense of loneliness. This became a horrible cycle that I couldn¿¿t truly break until going home in the summer. While I still went to the majority of my classes and was reasonably engaged during lectures, upon coming home and trying to write papers, I struggled immensely. This was not only the case for FREN 342, ENGL 340, and ENGL 321, but for all of my classes. Though I had many ideas about what I could write, I worried over which was the best idea, and I had little motivation to write them down. So, I handed papers in late or not at all. Even now, I don¿¿t fully know how I allowed it to get so bad without seeking help or confiding in anyone. At the time, it seemed unavoidable, and my academic life became increasingly more hopeless as the year went on.

It was a source of great shame that I couldn¿¿t succeed in my classes, one aspect in my life in which I had always shone. I told myself continually that I would go see my professors and talk to someone in Student Wellness Services, but I never followed through. This summer, I have been much better, and have consulted my physician and a psychotherapist.

This year, I am going to ensure that I get the help I need, when I need it. I am now open with my parents about what happened, and I talk to them daily. They are very supportive and have helped me plan for a successful year. I am going to continue regular sessions of cognitive behavioural therapy to develop better habits and to check in with a professional every couple of weeks. I am also committed to living an overall healthier lifestyle. I have a regular sleep schedule that I am sticking to (get up at 7am and go to bed at 11:30pm), which my parents help me to maintain. My diet has improved, and I am eating far less sugar, (which causes spikes in insulin and then tiredness). I am spending more time on campus to get work done in between my classes, and I make sure to go outside at least once a day. To combat feeling isolated, I take the time for social visits with friends, call my family often, and will continue to take dance classes with Queen¿¿s Dance Club. These improvements have made my first two weeks at school wonderful, and I have stayed up to date on all of my coursework, thus far. In and out of my classes, I have been very engaged with the material, and I feel quite excited for the coming year. I feel confident that this year will be much better, in part because I am more comfortable getting the help I need, and in part because I am ready to work to achieve my goals.

It is my dream to become a teacher, and I will be working on applications this term to enroll in a consecutive education program after I graduate. With that said, I am retaking the courses that I failed last year, as well as the remaining courses that I need to graduate this spring with a major in English and a minor in French. Though this means I will be taking six courses each semester, I am certain that I will be successful. I have already created a detailed schedule that manages time for schoolwork and my extracurriculars. It includes the dates that I will have outlines, drafts, and polished essays completed, with the final assignments finished one week before they are due. I have also already booked three meetings with the Writing Centre before my final papers are due to hold myself accountable. Finally, I wrote two of my papers over the summer to get a head start on my workload.

This past summer I kept regular sleeping hours, was well prepared for my lifeguarding/swim-instructing job, and was overall very happy. I am confident I can keep it up. I know it is going to be a lot of work, but I have taken steps, and will continue to take steps to overcome my perfectionism, fear of asking for help, and mental health struggles so that I can achieve my tangible goals of graduating, getting into teacher¿¿s college, and becoming a future educator.

Sincerely,
Emma Cherry