Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: May 13,2021

To the Dean of Admission,

I am writing to request to withdraw from the following courses.
MUSC 171
MUSC 289
DEVS 221
DEVS 100

Please take my appeal into consideration due to external circumstances and situations listed below.
-My wife gave birth to our daughter Olivia on March 20th, 2021
-Jacob, our 5- year old son with autism, has been learning virtually online
-Busy work schedule and working from home during the pandemic
-Covid-19 contact and sickness during exams

I was doing well in the first half of the winter semester being up to date with readings and
assignments. Unfortunately, a lot of factors combined made it difficult for me to complete my winter
2021 courses. I work in finance and I have been working from home since March 2020. The first three
months of the year is a busy time for me at work with RRSP and tax season. The pandemic did not help
our household situation either, since the schools are on lockdown my wife has to assist our autistic son Jacob with online schooling. It was very difficult for her to juggle caring for the baby and Jacob, so I helped her out whenever I could. Jacob needed a lot of assistance since he can be very hyper-active and his attention span in the computer is limited.

Our baby daughter has been a blessing to us but her birth also came with its emotional tolls. My wife is suffering from post-partum dealing with the baby, an autistic child and cabin fever being
cooped up in the house during lockdown. We go through a lot of emotional stress and arguments every
night and by the middle of March it was very hard for me to focus on my studies and readings. I got
behind in my schoolwork as I had to prioritize work and family first.

Lastly, on April 13th, 2021 a church family friend dropped off some food for us. We maintained social distancing and he handed me the bag of food. On April 23rd, I got a phone call from him that everyone in his household had tested positive for covid. I felt fine and had no symptoms when I received the news. The very next day, Saturday, April 24th, I had an exam due that day for DEVS100 and I started showing symptoms. I had body aches, muscle aches, fatigue and body chills. My wife got a cold and my son Jacob had a runny nose along with puffy eyes. The whole weekend I was unable to focus and do normal tasks. I was unable to complete the exam. On Tuesday April 27th our household tested negative for covid and we got better. Unfortunately, the father of my church friend¿¿s household had passed away suddenly due to covid on May 1st. This news really affected our family and everyone at our church.

These circumstances combined has really made the last few months difficult for our family. Thankfully, we are getting better and coping physically and mentally. My wife and I are communicating more, we are going outside more as a family for exercises. Our daughter Olivia¿¿s sleeping schedule has gotten better. We also planned and worked out a schedule in our house with Jacob and my work.

I appreciate you taking your time reviewing my appeal process. If my appeal is granted and I am able to withdraw from these courses it will put me in a better academic standing and morale to continue my studies. Thank you for your consideration and understanding.


Regards,
Giancarlo Perlas