Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Dr. Jenn Stephenson,

I am appealing for Credit Standing for the impacted classes; ENGL 200, ENGL 292, and ENGL 237 (Winter 2019). I am concerned that these grades do not reflect my academic abilities as a student.

In the Fall 2018 semester there was an ongoing situation that affected my academic performance. I experienced a traumatic assault that significantly and negatively impacted my mental health. These grades are not an accurate representation of my academic capabilities. My goal at the time was to finish the courses and to complete every assignment. These grades are a large part of my GPA but do not represent my abilities as an English student. Since this event I have worked hard to improve my grades with the hope that this event would not define my future academic performances. I took 9.0 units of summer courses in the 2020 semester to help raise my GPA, hoping to make up for the grades I received in second year.

At the time of the event, I was not in a position to deal with the appeals process. I struggled with mental health concerns and it took a few months to process what had happened. It was difficult to heal and move past an event that happened in Kingston while I was still living here. Many parts of Kingston were and still are a trigger, making it hard to go to class and focus on my learning. However, I did my best in completing the courses and the requirements in order to pass them. Since then, I have been to counselling sessions with my counsellor as well as counselling in a wellness group at Queen¿¿s (PEGaSUS) to speak with others who have been through something similar. I have participated in individual counselling since Fall 2019 and will continue to speak about this event with someone after I graduate.

As I graduate Queen¿¿s University I would like to leave this school with pride in all of my work. I would like the GPA I graduate with to reflect my abilities as a student. I am a student that has overcome a difficult situation that was out of my control and not my fault. I am resilient and I will continue to move past what happened. Receiving a Credit Standing for these courses will help me move forward. Eventually, I would like to become an elementary school teacher or teach English as a second language. I believe a teacher should be a strong individual that can overcome difficult situations. I will continue to work hard in my program for the remainder of my time at Queen¿¿s. I would like to pursue more schooling after my undergrad and would not want anything that was out of my control to stop me.

Thank you,

Victoria Leigh-Bennett