Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Annu Pulipra
41 Vandermeer Dr
Markham, Ontario, L6C 2L3
(647) 992-0278
20ap1@queensu.ca
Student ID: 20232150

Dr. Jill Atkinson
Acting Associate Dean, (Academic)
94 University Avenue
Queen??s University
Kingston, ON Canada
K7L 3N6

August 16, 2021


Dr. Jill Atkinson,

My name is Annu Pulipra and I am writing this letter to submit an official appeal to waive the 21-day appeal deadline, originally assigned as June 16th, 2021, in regards to a requirement to withdraw for one year.

In the academic year of 2020-2021, I began my first year of post-secondary education at Queen??s University as a Bachelor of Arts (BAH) / Concurrent Education (B.Ed) student, aspiring to pursue a major in French Studies. Due to personal circumstances, I have not been able to pass my courses and have been required to withdraw for one year. I am aware of my actions and take full responsibility for submitting this appeal past the assigned deadline of June 16th, 2021, however, I am kindly requesting your time to review my circumstances and I am hoping there is a chance to continue my learning with Queen??s University this Fall 2021 term.

I would like to begin by expressing my true passion for learning and how it has always been prevalent in my life. From a young age, it was always a dream of mine to be able to pursue teaching as a career in my life. The moment I found out about the Concurrent Education program at Queen??s, I knew that this is where I wanted to continue my path towards my dream of being an educator. I have always been an enthusiastic and hardworking individual, and showcased many of these skills through both academics and various leadership positions in my community. I put my all into everything I set my mind to, and was so grateful to begin the next chapter of my life as a post-secondary student at Queen??s University.

I was honoured to be accepted into the BAH / B.Ed first year program at the Bader International Study Centre (BISC), and was ready to have a fresh start in both my academic and personal life in an exciting new environment; however, the COVID-19 pandemic largely impacted the course of this past year. In the beginning of 2020, I was definitely struggling with my mental health more than I have before, and with the world shutting down, I found it harder to overcome these challenges. Since my initial plan to attend in-person classes at the BISC in England was cancelled due to the pandemic, my parents requested that I stay at our family home for my first year until changes were announced. Learning and exploring my academic growth from home was something I had not experienced before and was definitely something I wasn??t prepared to go through.

Living at home as a first generation Canadian in an ethnic household, my parents were not able to fully recognize my decline in mental health, and the disbelief of any personal struggles I had expressed to my family further heightened feelings of isolation during the many months of the provincial lockdown. The feeling of excitement and progression in this new chapter of my life and education journey turned into a long period of stagnation, where I experienced feelings of hopelessness and a decline in motivation. Balancing school work and home stress became a tedious task and created an unhealthy learning environment, and as the Fall 2020 term progressed, I began to acknowledge the effects of my mental health on my courses. Having experienced invalidation while seeking help in the past, however, I failed to take concrete actions to improve my situation. As a result, I continued to struggle keeping up with my courses and was denying the realities of my mental health. I saw myself failing courses, and began to give into the shame associated with failure in my culture, ultimately viewing the sensible option of dropping a course early on as a sign of ??weakness?. I was ashamed to seek help, and instead told myself that I would make up for my grades with little to no action by the end of each term. By the time I received the notification on May 25th, 2021 that I was required to withdraw for one year and would not be able to return to my studies in the fall, I had reached my lowest point in my mental health journey. I denied opportunities that were presented to me to make sustainable changes to my lifestyle and thus disregarded the assigned deadline of June 16th, 2021.

As the summer months passed and the Fall 2021 term approached, I ultimately came to the realization of the importance and gravity of my situation, and deeply regretted not doing everything I could to turn things around for myself earlier on. I know I want to pursue my passion and continue my learning at Queen??s University, and so I made the decision to move forward and finally take action. I opened up to my parents about my mental health, and with persistence, time, and compassion, we have made significant progress in our mutual understanding. I have since reached out to my doctor and I am currently seeking professional help to support my emotional growth through ongoing therapy sessions. Additionally, I have learned to tap into the many incredible resources that Queen??s University has to offer to help me get back on my feet. I have been in contact with Academic Advisors within the Faculty, as well as advisors from the Faculty of Education. I am also scheduling appointments with Career Counsellors to discuss alternate pathways in the event that I am not able to continue my education in the ConEd program, completing the Study Skills & Habits questionnaire developed by Student Academic Success Services (SASS) and reaching out to an Academic Skills Specialist to help identify skills that need work and implement effective changes to my learning habits. I am also registering for a student mentor through the Upper Year Mentorship Program offered by the Student Experience Office. Through this program, I will connect with a fellow Queen??s student on a weekly basis, where we will set goals for my academic and personal growth, form a relationship where I can communicate openly about any hardships and discuss sustainable plans of action to overcome them, all while further developing my confidence and having someone to keep me in check during this remedial period. Prioritizing effective time management practices that I will continue to use with my courses has proven extremely beneficial as well, such as pre-scheduling each day with time dedicated to different courses and ensuring to implement breaks and personal time to avoid potential burnout. Additionally, I believe that surrounding myself with a campus full of students and physically changing my living and learning environment will help me stay motivated and move forward significantly with my progress, and therefore I will be moving to Kingston, ON as of September 2021. All other specific steps that I am taking now and in the near future are also indicated in the attached Academic Plan. I am determined to make realistic and sustainable changes that will help me not only get back on track with my personal growth, but with my post-secondary career at Queen??s.

To conclude, I want to thank you for taking the time to review my appeal and I truly hope there is a possibility to waive the 21-day deadline. Ultimately, I would like to include this information in the appeal to waive my requirement to withdraw for one year, with the hope of continuing my education at Queen??s University at a full-time or at least part-time status for the term of Fall 2021.

Thank you again for your consideration and I hope to hear back from you soon.

Sincerely,


Annu Pulipra
Student ID: 20232150