Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: My name is Selena Jagdeo, and I am a first-year student enrolled in the online Global Development program. I was very enthusiastic and grateful to have the opportunity to attend Queens University and begin my academic career in 2020. However, my living situation was interfering with my performance in school and as a result became detrimental to my academics and mental health.

I am the third child of a family of four, living with my single mother. Due to our financial status I was helping my family pay rent and other monthly bills while balancing school. Although I love supporting my family, I was under a lot of pressure living at home to fulfill household responsibilities. My living situation didn??t enable me to prioritize school and as a result it was constantly being put on the backburner. My mother was experiencing immense stress, as she was struggling to provide for all of us and unfortunately at times would lash out on me. My mother means the absolute world to me, but she was beginning to interfere with my emotional and mental state. I was so focused on pleasing my family I didn??t realize how behind I had fallen in my classes first term. I became so discouraged to see that I was failing my courses that I lost sight of my personal goal. My mental health started to take a downward spiral and I began to have suicidal thoughts. The negative opinions and voices of my mother and siblings became so loud in my head, that I began to believe I wasn??t worth being here.

I attempted suicide in October and was admitted to the hospital for overdosing. After being assessed by Psychiatrists and therapists I was diagnosed with depression and bipolar type two disorder. I was prescribed anti-depressants and started individual and group therapy to navigate and cope with my mental illnesses. I was still trying to find solutions to my living situation as it was contributing to my poor mental health. I had originally planned to stay at a friend??s or family member??s house temporarily to have a change in my home environment. However, shortly after, my older sister retrieved covid-19 from a patient while working in the hospital. After helping my sister recover from the virus, I fell sick and tested positive for covid-19 as well. This was a setback for my mental state because I became physically ill and had to quarantine in my home for 2 weeks. This was a setback for my academic success because I was forced to stay in the same environment that was limiting my potential.

I am so grateful and fortunate that my Profs were understanding to my circumstances and am proud to say I passed WRIT-125 along with PHIL-157 first term 2020. For the ending of first term 2020 I had an academic accommodation emplaced, and it was extended to second term. I decided to persevere and continue my academic studies despite the circumstances. However, I was still trying to manage my poor mental health while keeping up with my academic workload and working part time. I applied to summer courses in hopes that I could make up credits I didn??t complete successfully for my fall/winter term classes. I take responsibility for my lack of good judgment of taking these courses so soon after my However, I am now aware of my limits for a reasonable school workload that??ll allow me to complete my courses successfully. I have also made arrangements to change my living situation in order to improve my academic performance and focus.


I understand that my circumstances do not determine my success as I am responsible for my actions and decisions. However, I would appreciate you to consider my appeal due to the factors such as my family, and financial struggles that were out of my control. I appreciate the option to appeal my final grades. Thank you for your generous time.