Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: To Whom It May Concern:

Thank you for your time and consideration in reading this letter. I have for the last 7 years been debating whether or not I would attempt a return to Queen's to finish my B.A. and, while it may have been financially possible much earlier, I do not feel that I was ready until recently. I would like to offer the university an explanation as to the circumstances that resulted in my mandatory 3 year withdrawal from studies and request that this withdrawal be waived so that I may complete the remaining 6.0 units requirement I need for a Bachelor of Arts Degree.

In offering an explanation as to why I was forced to withdrawal for 3 years in 2008 I would like to start back in 2005. At this time I began to experience serious financial difficulties that have, in some form or other, been an issue for me ever since my first year of university. This was due in large part to my ineligibility to receive OSAP while at the same time not receiving any financial help from my parents. I did my best to make ends meet by taking out a yearly student line of credit and working part time in the army reserves however, it seemed that each year the cycle of stress would build and build. In 2005 I could no longer find the ability to cope with the strain of juggling work and school. I had accumulated 35,000 on my student line of credit, my credit card was always in the red and it seemed like no matter what I did I always had to sacrifice my time in class or time studying for any extra hours of work I could get. This resulted in the first of my academic disaster years at queens. At the end of that year I was brought to the conclusion that the best thing to do was to take some time off. I had a job connection out in Vancouver so I packed up my belongings and moved out west. While this plan seemed like a great idea in principle it never materialized. The cost of living in Vancouver was too high and I was still servicing too much debt from my previous years at Queen's so I never was able to put aside enough money. All that being said, I must admit that the main reason for this effort failing was because I do not believe that I was mature enough to focus on my goals or willing to sacrifice my standard of living for them. As much as I would have liked to believed at the time that I was a mature, independent and responsible person I know now that I still had a lot of growing up to do.

It was also during this time in Vancouver that I started a relationship with a girl whom I would date for the following 2 years. After discussion we decided that we would both like to return to school. She was interested in a post-graduate program in New York City and I was interested in a return to Queen's. I was now eligible for government student loans and felt that with this financial stability I could move forward unhindered. In the summer of 2007 we both moved back out east. Things started out great. I felt I was well established and not nearly under the same financial stress as before. Then at the beginning of the second semester things fell apart. My relationship ended and the student loans I thought I could depend on were not enough to see me through to the end of the year. I hence returned to the same old cycle of financial anxiety, although the real source of my stress came from having to deal with the end of my relationship. I had every intention on spending the rest of my life with this person and when that prospect disappeared it took with it many of my other long-term goals. If I was in the same situation now I would like to think that I have the self awareness and humility to realize that I was in trouble and I could have asked for some help from the university, family or friends. However out of pride or sheer stubbornness that didn't happen and, for better or worse, it steered my life down a different path.

In 2008 I left Queen's again, this time unfortunately it was under a mandatory 3 year withdrawal. My immediate priority was to relieve some of the financial stress I was under. I was lucky enough to get a full time contract with the Canadian Armed Forces and started working with a team that conducted pre-deployment training for members going to Afghanistan. I always thought it would be something I would do for 6-12 months and then once I had enough money I would look in to trying to get an early readmission to Queen's. Thankfully this never happened. As things would go I came to enjoy the work I was doing and, not to mention, the feeling of being truly financially independent for the first time in my life. There was also the job satisfaction and working with a team of people that saw potential in me. After failure in my relationships, twice failing in school and never quite feeling like I made enough of my time off in Vancouver I was finally started to build back some of my self-confidence. I would like to digress for a moment so that I may add something that I feel is relevant to my story. Another reason why I had felt this overwhelming sense of failure is because of an interesting family history with the university. I am in fact the third generation of my family to attend Queen's University. I am also the third generation that has not graduated. My grandfather, John MacLean, attended in the 1950's and my uncle, Peter MacLean attended in the 1970's. I do not know the exact reasons why they withdrew but I know it did not stop them from having satisfying lives or successful careers afterwards. I also don't think either would chastise me for my mistakes or for what I have done with my life since but that still doesn't change the fact that I felt an extreme amount of guilt at the time for not being able to finish what both of them started.

To return to my original story, I continued on with the reserves for the next 3 years, slowly paying off student debt and getting some sense of independence and confidence back in my life. It was by no means an overnight change. I had found my self hounded by collection agencies and still had problems finding the money for large expenses such as car repairs or first and last months rent but every month things continued to get a little bit better. Then in 2010 I decided that I would take a shot at applying for a position in a specialized occupation in the regular forces. I was never much for the full time transient military lifestyle but the older I was getting the less I was concerned with the trade off between what I would be doing and where I would be doing it. In 2011 I was successful in my application and began my training as Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) operator. I have been employed in this trade since and it has thus far it has been a very fulfilling career.

As I look back now I can undoubtedly say my last 7 years have been well spent. If I had somehow been able to return to Queen's earlier I do not think that would have beneficial for me personally or financially. Stepping away from the university has given me a chance to grow as a person and allow some of my adolescent pride to fade in exchanged for the humility. I am also finally financially stable and, while I still have some student debt, I have paid off almost 37,000 since 2008 and have budgeted to see the remainder gone in the spring of 2016. I have also had the opportunity through my employment with the military to take courses through RMC (CCE 106,151 and 240) and am glad to say that I completed each with a cumulative average of 86. I believe that I am ready to return. I have financial stability, a strong personal support network and an employer that not only makes accommodations for part time educational pursuits but also provides subsidized educational reimbursement. Most importantly though I believe I have the maturity, confidence and life experience that I did not have 7 years ago. I hope that the university will consider my circumstances, both previous and current, and will see that I am motivated, sincere and capable of finishing what I came so close to back in 2008.


Thank you for your time and consideration,


Christopher Roy.
Student 04595260