Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: 21 January 2015

Dear Associate Dean,

I am contacting you in hope to change my grades to credit in LING 310 and PSYC 251. Unfortunately since January of 2014 my depression became sever, and it has impacted my sleep, focus, motivation, alimentation and aggravated my arthritis. This impacted my ability to focus in classes, complete work in a timely manner and seek help. After feeling let down by the Queen's counseling service I had been managing my depression on my own. I had made great strides since the previous term and attended almost every class and tried to open up a dialogue with my Professors. Nonetheless, the effects of my low mood had strongly affected my physical health, which limited my energy and attention span. My academic performance directly correlated with the lows of my mood. I managed some success in every course, yet I struggled with devoting energy to the courses that needed the most attention. Fighting with feelings of hopelessness made working on Phonetics after a midterm failure straining. In addition, to being forced to confront my difficult upbringing in Development Psychology amplified my anxiety. The stress of daily functions had become so high, that I inadvertently neglected other stressors such as difficult course and focused on the tasks I felt I could succeed in.

I have been struggling to stay a float for a long time, however after my housemates were forced to call an ambulance because of an anxiety attack, I had to admit that I needed help. I have been working with Queen's Academic Advising, Health Services, a rheumatologist, Counseling and my Professors in order to manage the detrimental effects that my depression have had on my life and could have on my future.
Despite great efforts, I am still struggling with my depression and trying not to let it affect all aspects of my life. Nevertheless, I am no longer managing it alone, I have created a support system in and outside the university community and am using every resource to try and turn things around. I am only working one job, taking a lighter course load and my timetable is designed to enable me to have time to manage my health. I am only now at a place that I can reflect on my own short fallings and am fully committing to taking care of my academics and myself. I know that overcoming depression will take time and I have to be patient and hope that the school can be patient with me as well. I have the ability to achieve more than what my GPA says of me and I hope to prove it.

Sincerely,

Sieglinde Busch