Manage Appeals
Petition Type: New
ID: 6062
Submitted: July 29, 2019 at 10:48:34 AM
First Name: Natasja
Last Name: Diab
Student Number: 10195347
Email: natasja.diab@queensu.ca
Degree Program: BA
Plan: POLS
Level of Study: 4
Petition Categories
Petition Categories: Drop a course after the academic deadline, Request credit (CR) standing in a course or courses
Code: COMM 251
Term: Summer
Year: 2018
Petition Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline
Code: COMM 611
Term: Fall
Year: 2018
Petition Category: Request credit (CR) standing in a course or courses
Instructor's Name: Erin Webster - WEBSTERE@QUEENSU.CA
Petition Letter
Petition Letter: Letter of Appeal
10195347
29 July 2019
Dear Associate Dean (Studies):
I am writing to request an appeal beyond the one-term deadline in order to request a Credit Standing and late dropped grade for COMM 251/651 and COMM 211/611.
I was unable to complete the COMM 251/651 course in the summer 2018 term due to a family member¿¿s illness causing me to have to travel back and forth between Kingston (where I was working full-time during the week at Queen¿¿s) and Mississauga.
My grandfather then passed away in October 2018, leading to increased difficulty in succeeding in COMM 211/611.
All the while, I have been struggling to find an appropriate anti-depressant and dosage, with repeated appointments at LaSalle, seeing the psychiatrist Dr. Duffy. At the same time, I have continued working full-time at Queen¿¿s in the Department of Political Studies as part of the Queen¿¿s Undergraduate Internship Program (QUIP).
Erroneously, I missed the emails sent to my student account regarding my performance in the two commerce classes, as I have an employee Queen¿¿s email and was unable to properly merge my accounts. For that reason coupled with my mental health and numerous more family illnesses cropping up consistently throughout the year (my other grandfather being hospitalized, my father needing surgery, my sister losing her eyesight and my grandmother losing one eye), I have not been able to manage my responsibilities and take necessary action to remedy my performance in those two courses.
I sincerely regret not appealing sooner and I am hoping you will grant me the right to process and appeal now.
Due to my overwhelming few years at Queen¿¿s, I switched from a BAH to a BA, and graduated this past June 2019, with the hope of one day completing my remaining credits and upgrading to an Honours degree. I value my education and my time at this institution, but I do not believe my recent poor performance is a reflection of who I am as a student. I regret not taking time off from school and instead attempting to suppress my feelings and maintain my academics while going through personal difficulties. This decision was obviously a mistake and I was unable to maintain the standard of academic performance that I have come to expect of myself and be proud of. I am not proud of how I have handled these past two years, but I do recognize that while I made the decision to try to stay in school, many factors out of my control did contribute to my failures.
I took steps to try to help me through the effect of my extenuating circumstances, but ultimately, nothing was able to get me back into the right frame of mind to be a successful student. My mental health coupled with grief of loss and stress regarding the deterioration of the people closest to me made it difficult for me to keep up with assignments, focus, retain information and engage fully in my courses. My mind was so preoccupied that even when I could find the time to study, as hard as I tried, I just could not grasp concepts or remember facts. When I was able to be present in Kingston, I would attend help sessions and reach out to my peers for help in understanding the course work. I tried to introduce mindfulness into my routine and practiced yoga. I tried to keep a schedule, but working full-time while trying to catch up on schoolwork became overwhelming. As aforementioned, I was seeing a psychiatrist and trying medication after medication to try to help jolt me back into normalcy ¿¿ without much success. In fact, after my grandfather passed, I stopped sleeping almost entirely and had to be prescribed sleeping pills to help me. These made me increasingly groggy and fogged my thinking, making completing work and schoolwork even more difficult. My stress has been so persistent and consumes so much of my time and energy, seriously affecting my ability to function normally. Just a few weeks ago I met with Dr. Welihinda at LaSalle who tested me for diabetes as well as other potential issues due to my plethora of symptoms. She determined that what I am experiencing is my stress manifesting into physical symptoms akin to those of diabetes. It is evident to me that I do not have things as under control as I had hoped, and I want to get better. I hope that my poor performance academically over the past 2 years does not tarnish my academic reputation and I want to do everything I can to ensure that my future is not ruined. I think that part of the reason this appeal request is so delayed is my inability to accept what has happened and my desire to deny and repress my struggles.
I recognize now that I must get a handle on my circumstances and do everything within my power to remedy what has happened. I want to work hard to recover my grades and get an Honours degree and the Certificate in Business that I had once been so excited and proud to work toward.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
Natasja Diab
10195347
29 July 2019
Dear Associate Dean (Studies):
I am writing to request an appeal beyond the one-term deadline in order to request a Credit Standing and late dropped grade for COMM 251/651 and COMM 211/611.
I was unable to complete the COMM 251/651 course in the summer 2018 term due to a family member¿¿s illness causing me to have to travel back and forth between Kingston (where I was working full-time during the week at Queen¿¿s) and Mississauga.
My grandfather then passed away in October 2018, leading to increased difficulty in succeeding in COMM 211/611.
All the while, I have been struggling to find an appropriate anti-depressant and dosage, with repeated appointments at LaSalle, seeing the psychiatrist Dr. Duffy. At the same time, I have continued working full-time at Queen¿¿s in the Department of Political Studies as part of the Queen¿¿s Undergraduate Internship Program (QUIP).
Erroneously, I missed the emails sent to my student account regarding my performance in the two commerce classes, as I have an employee Queen¿¿s email and was unable to properly merge my accounts. For that reason coupled with my mental health and numerous more family illnesses cropping up consistently throughout the year (my other grandfather being hospitalized, my father needing surgery, my sister losing her eyesight and my grandmother losing one eye), I have not been able to manage my responsibilities and take necessary action to remedy my performance in those two courses.
I sincerely regret not appealing sooner and I am hoping you will grant me the right to process and appeal now.
Due to my overwhelming few years at Queen¿¿s, I switched from a BAH to a BA, and graduated this past June 2019, with the hope of one day completing my remaining credits and upgrading to an Honours degree. I value my education and my time at this institution, but I do not believe my recent poor performance is a reflection of who I am as a student. I regret not taking time off from school and instead attempting to suppress my feelings and maintain my academics while going through personal difficulties. This decision was obviously a mistake and I was unable to maintain the standard of academic performance that I have come to expect of myself and be proud of. I am not proud of how I have handled these past two years, but I do recognize that while I made the decision to try to stay in school, many factors out of my control did contribute to my failures.
I took steps to try to help me through the effect of my extenuating circumstances, but ultimately, nothing was able to get me back into the right frame of mind to be a successful student. My mental health coupled with grief of loss and stress regarding the deterioration of the people closest to me made it difficult for me to keep up with assignments, focus, retain information and engage fully in my courses. My mind was so preoccupied that even when I could find the time to study, as hard as I tried, I just could not grasp concepts or remember facts. When I was able to be present in Kingston, I would attend help sessions and reach out to my peers for help in understanding the course work. I tried to introduce mindfulness into my routine and practiced yoga. I tried to keep a schedule, but working full-time while trying to catch up on schoolwork became overwhelming. As aforementioned, I was seeing a psychiatrist and trying medication after medication to try to help jolt me back into normalcy ¿¿ without much success. In fact, after my grandfather passed, I stopped sleeping almost entirely and had to be prescribed sleeping pills to help me. These made me increasingly groggy and fogged my thinking, making completing work and schoolwork even more difficult. My stress has been so persistent and consumes so much of my time and energy, seriously affecting my ability to function normally. Just a few weeks ago I met with Dr. Welihinda at LaSalle who tested me for diabetes as well as other potential issues due to my plethora of symptoms. She determined that what I am experiencing is my stress manifesting into physical symptoms akin to those of diabetes. It is evident to me that I do not have things as under control as I had hoped, and I want to get better. I hope that my poor performance academically over the past 2 years does not tarnish my academic reputation and I want to do everything I can to ensure that my future is not ruined. I think that part of the reason this appeal request is so delayed is my inability to accept what has happened and my desire to deny and repress my struggles.
I recognize now that I must get a handle on my circumstances and do everything within my power to remedy what has happened. I want to work hard to recover my grades and get an Honours degree and the Certificate in Business that I had once been so excited and proud to work toward.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
Natasja Diab
Documentation
Professional Letter Detail: .
Documentation Detail: Personal Health Verification