Manage Appeals
Petition Type: New
ID: 8399
Submitted: November 28, 2021 at 2:29:51 PM
First Name: Austen
Last Name: Lougheed
Student Number: 20212723
Email: 19ajhl@queensu.ca
Degree Program: BSCH
Plan: LISC
Level of Study: 2
Petition Categories
Petition Categories: Drop a course after the academic deadline
Code: PHYS 118
Term: Summer
Year: 2021
Petition Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline
Code: BCHM 218
Term: Fall
Year: 2021
Petition Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline
Petition Letter
Petition Letter: To Whom it May Concern,
I am writing to you today to formally ask that my Physics 118 from this summer and my BCHM 218 from this fall be dropped and a ??NG? be applied to my transcript in place of my failing grade in physics and a probable negative outcome in BCHM 218 as at this stage my mark is well below a passing grade.
I opted to take Physics 118 this past summer following a very challenging first year at Queen??s and on the advice of an academic counsellor that I spoke with in November of 2020. This term the BCHM 218 course has proved to be more than I can handle at the moment given the challenges with all my courses and the state of mind I find myself in at the present moment.
Last year, I was living in a residence and on multiple occasions was in isolation due to COVID-19 outbreaks on my residence floor and found the complete virtual learning platform very lonely and challenging. I am by nature a very tactile learner and doing everything virtually just really took its toll on me on so many levels. This year the hybrid approach though an improvement in some ways is also challenging, with the need to switch back and forth between online and in person. By nature I work and find success when I am in person, working with others and seeing the learning unfold in front of me in real time.
This past May, when I arrived home to begin my summer job I was not aware of the immense strain my first year had taken on my mental and physical health. I was not listening to my parents and friends who were noticing a significant change in my personality and instead just buried myself in my work and in my physics course. I hoped that I would just figure it out.
Coming off a fairly strong first year, I was not seeing the signals that I was not doing well in the Physics 118 course. It was not until just after the drop deadline mid summer that I realized I was falling behind with no clear path to success. Once the deadline passed, I just figured I would find a way to pass this course because for the first time in my academic life, that seemed acceptable to me, which looking back goes against my beliefs and goals and is further evidence to how unhealthy I really was. I remember coming home from my summer job and just staring at blank pages in my notebook with no real recognition that I was struggling as badly as I was.
Unfortunately, what actually happened in the following weeks post the drop deadline date is I feel that I stepped back even more, refusing to listen to those around me that I needed to get some help and support and acknowledge my mental health. Towards the end of the course, my parents convinced me to get a tutor which I used but not effectively, as I feel I was just not in a positive or healthy mental mindset to do what needed to be done to be successful in this course.
I started this fall with a renewed approach to give it my all and return to the success I had become accustomed to. Overall, I have enjoyed the Life Sciences Program immensely and love my instructors but in the past few weeks post midterms I realize that with BCHM 218 I am again not in a space where I can or will be able to get a passing grade. The difference from this past summer is I see it this time, which I guess is a good thing. Unfortunately, it is starting to overwhelm me again and take valuable time away from my other courses.
Recently, I met with Haley Everson, Associate Director of Student Services. She advised me among other things to meet with Katherine Rudder, Undergraduate Life Sciences Program Advisor, which I did on Monday November 22nd, 2021. We discussed the option of putting forward this appeal to drop BCHM 218.
I have been working towards my admittance to the Life Sciences Program since Grade 11. I have always given a great deal of effort to my studies and as a result have always enjoyed success. I did not realize at the time but now see how COVID-19 and isolation and my mental health was impacting how I am approaching my studies, managing personal relationships and maintaining my personal happiness.
Thank you for considering these two appeals. The failing grade in physics and my lack of success in BCHM 218 continues to weigh heavily on me and if these grades were removed it would significantly help me on my road to recovery and will allow me to move forward with a healthier mental mindset.
Yours Truly,
Austen Lougheed
I am writing to you today to formally ask that my Physics 118 from this summer and my BCHM 218 from this fall be dropped and a ??NG? be applied to my transcript in place of my failing grade in physics and a probable negative outcome in BCHM 218 as at this stage my mark is well below a passing grade.
I opted to take Physics 118 this past summer following a very challenging first year at Queen??s and on the advice of an academic counsellor that I spoke with in November of 2020. This term the BCHM 218 course has proved to be more than I can handle at the moment given the challenges with all my courses and the state of mind I find myself in at the present moment.
Last year, I was living in a residence and on multiple occasions was in isolation due to COVID-19 outbreaks on my residence floor and found the complete virtual learning platform very lonely and challenging. I am by nature a very tactile learner and doing everything virtually just really took its toll on me on so many levels. This year the hybrid approach though an improvement in some ways is also challenging, with the need to switch back and forth between online and in person. By nature I work and find success when I am in person, working with others and seeing the learning unfold in front of me in real time.
This past May, when I arrived home to begin my summer job I was not aware of the immense strain my first year had taken on my mental and physical health. I was not listening to my parents and friends who were noticing a significant change in my personality and instead just buried myself in my work and in my physics course. I hoped that I would just figure it out.
Coming off a fairly strong first year, I was not seeing the signals that I was not doing well in the Physics 118 course. It was not until just after the drop deadline mid summer that I realized I was falling behind with no clear path to success. Once the deadline passed, I just figured I would find a way to pass this course because for the first time in my academic life, that seemed acceptable to me, which looking back goes against my beliefs and goals and is further evidence to how unhealthy I really was. I remember coming home from my summer job and just staring at blank pages in my notebook with no real recognition that I was struggling as badly as I was.
Unfortunately, what actually happened in the following weeks post the drop deadline date is I feel that I stepped back even more, refusing to listen to those around me that I needed to get some help and support and acknowledge my mental health. Towards the end of the course, my parents convinced me to get a tutor which I used but not effectively, as I feel I was just not in a positive or healthy mental mindset to do what needed to be done to be successful in this course.
I started this fall with a renewed approach to give it my all and return to the success I had become accustomed to. Overall, I have enjoyed the Life Sciences Program immensely and love my instructors but in the past few weeks post midterms I realize that with BCHM 218 I am again not in a space where I can or will be able to get a passing grade. The difference from this past summer is I see it this time, which I guess is a good thing. Unfortunately, it is starting to overwhelm me again and take valuable time away from my other courses.
Recently, I met with Haley Everson, Associate Director of Student Services. She advised me among other things to meet with Katherine Rudder, Undergraduate Life Sciences Program Advisor, which I did on Monday November 22nd, 2021. We discussed the option of putting forward this appeal to drop BCHM 218.
I have been working towards my admittance to the Life Sciences Program since Grade 11. I have always given a great deal of effort to my studies and as a result have always enjoyed success. I did not realize at the time but now see how COVID-19 and isolation and my mental health was impacting how I am approaching my studies, managing personal relationships and maintaining my personal happiness.
Thank you for considering these two appeals. The failing grade in physics and my lack of success in BCHM 218 continues to weigh heavily on me and if these grades were removed it would significantly help me on my road to recovery and will allow me to move forward with a healthier mental mindset.
Yours Truly,
Austen Lougheed
Documentation
Professional Letter Detail: NO DOC
Documentation Detail: Letter from my father