Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: I am unfortunately submitting an appeal for dropping Econ 310 passed the drop deadline due to psychological challenges that have worsened from family problems.

This academic year has provided me the opportunity to learn which environments and circumstances are necessary to ensure my academic success and overall performance. I was diagnosed with depression in September 2020 and with ADHD January 2021. I am slowly beginning to create the space and apply the systems that work for me and help me reach my goals of becoming a consultant and then an entrepreneur. I have big goals and big dreams I am driving to achieve.

This year has been incredibly challenging. I began to unpack my life long emotional abuse from my narcissistic mother and as of the last month had to completely cut myself out of her life. On the other hand, my dad (who lives alone) got a medical diagnosis for really high blood pressure, so I left my student house in kingston to go stay at his house for a month and other weeks on and off to ensure he is eating properly and was not overworking himself. He also has a 2 year son (my half brother) with another woman. She is financially dependant on my dad and struggles with diagnosed PTSD from her own childhood. During my time at home I noticed the level of stress she puts on my dad by picking fights over the irrational thoughts and behaviours she experiences. My being there with my dad created larger problems as she feared I would get my half brother sick with COVID (even though I am extremely covid safe).I have began to worry that my dad's stressful life will cause him further issues with his heart.

This complicated family dynamic has been extremely detrimental for my mental health and has lead me to a pretty dark place with my depression. I decided that in order to be healthy this summer I would have to live on my own and pay for rent in Toronto. My summer job is in person in Toronto and is an important stepping stone for my career. Due to this financial burden of rent, I had to start working intense hours outside of my studies to be able to cover my living costs for the summer, as I no longer have support from my mom. These circumstances made it incredibly challenging to put the required time into ECON 310 as I already struggle with learning the calculus required for the course and have to put a lot of time in in order to understand the material. I was unable to submit 3 of the 5 assignments that are one of two deliverables outside of the exam. (the course break down is: combined grade from all assignments the midterm and the exam). Disconnecting from my mom has been very draining and has made it very difficult to study and complete course work this exam season and I was unable to study or put the time I needed into the class.

I am excited to start the next semester with a fresh start where I have the systems in place to succeed to the level I know that I am capable of. I would really appreciate a fresh start with this course so I am able to finish my degree with a transcript I am proud to present to future employers.

Thank you for your consideration,
Zoe Peres