Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: To Whom It May Concern;

I hope you are well. I am Arya Sheykhesmaeili, a fourth-year student enrolled in the Commerce program. The purpose of this letter is to provide you with a fuller picture of my circumstances before making a decision regarding my course late drop.

For the majority of my life, I have struggled with mental illness one way or another. Most of the time, I have managed to live a healthy, productive life while managing mild depression and anxiety symptoms. As is the case with almost all individuals living with chronic mental health issues, I had been advised by my specialist that I may experience much stronger symptoms of depression for a handful of episodes during my lifetime, any of which could last up to over a year.

In early 2021, I was impacted by the loss of a family member who had contracted Covid. This naturally led to an overwhelming amount of grief. Recovery proved to be much more difficult than I could have ever imagined. After a few weeks, I noticed that my wellbeing was not on a positive trajectory, after which I decided to seek professional help. While seeking help was a positive step, I was far from fully recovered at the time.

Unfortunately, the isolation resulting from social distancing measures have prolonged the recovery period. It has taken a tremendous amount of effort to navigate the biggest challenge of my life. But I am glad to finally have overcome a drawn-out, painful adversity. Over the last year, I was not upholding the standards and principles that I had held deeply for all of my life. More than anything, I feel bad about those around me ?? including peers who had trusted me as a dependable team member ?? who were negatively impacted.

I have only recently started feeling improvement in my wellbeing. It has taken a considerable amount of introspection and professional support to get my life back on track. It also took frustratingly long to find the right type of pharmaceutical treatment through trial and error. The side effects from treatments sometimes amplified the negative symptoms of my condition, rendering me even less productive at times. For the above reasons, I have not been able to reach out to you until recently to formally request a late drop for my COGS100 Course.

I have been in touch with health professionals extensively throughout the year. Supporting documentation of such communication is available upon request. I understand that re-establishing myself as a responsible, and successful student. And I will work tirelessly to achieve that goal.

Warm regards,
Arya Sheykhesmaeili