Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Dear Associate Dean

I am applying for a CR request for my 1st academic year in 2016 at Queen's University and my sociology classes for 1st semester of second year. The courses include ENGL 100 (Fall/Winter 2016), PSYC 100 (Fall/Winter 2016), PHIL 115 (Fall/Winter 2016), SOCY 122 (Fall/Winter 2016), SOCY 210 (Fall 2017), SOCY 226 (Fall 2017), SOCY 275 (Fall 2017). As well as SPAN 111 and ITLN 111 for a different extenuating circumstance.

Extenuating circumstances beyond my control include psychological challenges, traumatic events, and family problems that occurred in 2016. My mother was involved in a life-threatening accident that has affected myself and my family immensely. During 2016/2017 I was my mother's only support system and caregiver, as my family members struggled to come to terms that our situation was changing forever. A few months after the accident, I went to Queen's University which psychologically affects both my mother and me. She was detrimental to herself and others which caused me to keep travelling back and forth from school to home. Later on, because of my mental health, I got sick and got my exams differed.
- For SOCY 122 my midterm grade ended up being my final grade because the professor stated with my extenuating circumstances, I was unable to write the exam successfully.

The incident with my mother was always on my mind, I found it hard to focus and study, and had feelings of guilt as I was pursuing a life that my mother could not have.

This situation affected my academic performance by the psychological and emotional distancing from academics. Because I was limiting my time on campus and extending my time at home resulting in the inability to focus on modules and teach myself it caused a huge impact on my performance.

During the summer of 2017 going into second year I had had 2 deaths in the family and then I automatically was put in the same bad place that I was in throughout first year. I was in a major that was difficult for me and I was getting more upset with myself. I could not focus, was still travelling back and forth from home and school.

Winter 2018, I started taking courses that interested me like the LLCU courses and as soon as I felt adequate, I made the courageous decision of switching my major. I ended up liking my classes very much in second semester. I made a routine with my mom and set boundaries of when I was able to go home. And we still keep those plans to this day, and you can see that my grades improved significantly.

The reason I do not wish to appeal my entire second year and only a few courses is because I had started to make changes in my second year by voicing my concerns to the professors and I ended up changing my program as a solution to the difficult work that I felt I could not achieve when travelling back and forth to still be a support for my mother.

1. My sister is a counsellor and she acted as my support system. I had recently sought out professional confidential support from outside sources and it has been helpful in my pursuit for academics
2. As a lawsuit with my mother's case goes through, I hope to be able to gain some resources on psychologists to see in hopes to work on myself more. With the psychologists, my mother was worried that evidence could be used against her and often encouraged us not to seek professionals. This affected me as well and that is when I started to see Freeman, Margaret Maliszewska, and also reached out to Jan Mennell.

Summer 2018, For third year, major impacts happened to my family yet again, my mother was not getting better as many doctors would turn her away to provide her pain control, and my sister got into a car accident of her own. In which again, I could not focus on school, I wanted to be an active presence in my family causing my grades to suffer immensely. To this day both my Mother and sister are still unable to work and have constant chronic pain. My mother was deemed catastrophic and is undergoing legal battles which is why my documentation for this appeal letter may be lacking. I am more than happy to provide letters at your request.

Fall/Winter 2018 - 2019
Some courses during the years have been better than others. My language courses were affected as well, and this is all because, with the other courses, they were essay based, whereas it is extremely difficult to learn a language when going back and forth from Toronto to Kingston.

All in all, these classes do not represent my ability. I was a 90+ student in high school and have the potential to be one again as some grades are drastically better than others. I do not want this to be a reflection of my academics. I do feel that I learned what I could from the classes I took. For example, I took DEVS 100 in the summer of 2017, while I was still in a bad place mentally but did very well because I could dedicate and apply myself on my own time.

Why didn't I just go home and take a year off My family would not let that happen because so many things were taken away from that accident, they didn't feel like they wanted to take my education as well. Even though I struggled I am happy that I got the change to come to Queens and be a part of a wider support system for me than my family.

Another aspect I wanted to look at was the fact that I have waited until my third year to file for an appeal because I did not know about the appeal process, or about credit standing options until doing research in my third year. Also, my suffering from these situations have not ended, it is a constant battle every day. I

For my forth year, I'm hoping to go on internship and possible finish out my degree online. I found that that is what works best with me because I can go my own pace with the classes. I hope to seek counselling services and become a more aware person. This year I plan to see a psychologist in hopes of obtaining coping skills. I wish to hire a tutor for the classes that I may be struggling with that way I can keep a constant routine with my studies. I hope to continue discussing these issues with an academic advisor in hopes of finding the right classes for me. I am enrolled in Queen's Undergraduate Internship Program, my plan for the next year is to take time to work and be close to my family for the sake of my mental health.