Manage Appeals
Petition Type: New
ID: 8511
Submitted: December 15, 2021 at 10:46:19 PM
First Name: Zarrin
Last Name: Tasnim
Student Number: 20100327
Email: 17zt10@queensu.ca
Degree Program: BCH
Plan: COGS
Level of Study: 4
Petition Categories
Petition Categories: Waive the 21-day or one term deadline
Petition Letter
Petition Letter: Dear Dr. Stephenson,
I am submitting this appeal letter to request to drop the following 2021 Fall term courses: CISC 452 and CISC 474. Due to extenuating circumstances regarding my mental health, I have not been able to perform as well academically this semester, therefore I wish to drop these courses.
My mental health started getting worse with the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. As an international student, I was already experiencing a hard time coping with homesickness. Then following the unprecedented pandemic and travel restrictions, I was stuck in Kingston, Ontario alone for over 2 years and was not able to visit my family in Bangladesh. During this time, I was constantly worried for my family's health and safety, which caused a tremendous amount of stress given our distance and the rising cases of COVID-19 in their region. Oftentimes, I would be overwhelmed by nihilistic and borderline suicidal thoughts which in turn, impacted my motivation in completing course work and assessments. During the beginning of the Fall semester, my grandmother passed away. I was very close to my grandmother, and it broke my heart to know that I would not even be able to give her my last farewell at her funeral in Bangladesh. After this, my condition only worsened while trying to deal with academic pressures on top of everything else. Consequently, I was not able to concentrate on my studies and developed a habit of procrastinating all my work. I would reassure myself that I would be able to overcome this, and thus decided to not drop the courses and continue trying because I was desperate to graduate by 2022. However, I regrettably overestimated my abilities, neglected my mental health and wellbeing, and did not reach out for help when needed. By the time I was able to gather enough courage to reach out for help at student wellness, it was already too late and I could no longer save my academic standing.
Moving forward, I believe I am in a much better position to meet my academic requirements and goals for future semesters and reach out to the institution's student support services for my mental health needs. As an undergraduate Computer Science major, I understand that the courses CISC 452 and CISC 474 are mandatory for this program. As such, I plan on re-taking these courses next year to compensate for this term.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
Best regards,
Zarrin Tasnim
I am submitting this appeal letter to request to drop the following 2021 Fall term courses: CISC 452 and CISC 474. Due to extenuating circumstances regarding my mental health, I have not been able to perform as well academically this semester, therefore I wish to drop these courses.
My mental health started getting worse with the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. As an international student, I was already experiencing a hard time coping with homesickness. Then following the unprecedented pandemic and travel restrictions, I was stuck in Kingston, Ontario alone for over 2 years and was not able to visit my family in Bangladesh. During this time, I was constantly worried for my family's health and safety, which caused a tremendous amount of stress given our distance and the rising cases of COVID-19 in their region. Oftentimes, I would be overwhelmed by nihilistic and borderline suicidal thoughts which in turn, impacted my motivation in completing course work and assessments. During the beginning of the Fall semester, my grandmother passed away. I was very close to my grandmother, and it broke my heart to know that I would not even be able to give her my last farewell at her funeral in Bangladesh. After this, my condition only worsened while trying to deal with academic pressures on top of everything else. Consequently, I was not able to concentrate on my studies and developed a habit of procrastinating all my work. I would reassure myself that I would be able to overcome this, and thus decided to not drop the courses and continue trying because I was desperate to graduate by 2022. However, I regrettably overestimated my abilities, neglected my mental health and wellbeing, and did not reach out for help when needed. By the time I was able to gather enough courage to reach out for help at student wellness, it was already too late and I could no longer save my academic standing.
Moving forward, I believe I am in a much better position to meet my academic requirements and goals for future semesters and reach out to the institution's student support services for my mental health needs. As an undergraduate Computer Science major, I understand that the courses CISC 452 and CISC 474 are mandatory for this program. As such, I plan on re-taking these courses next year to compensate for this term.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
Best regards,
Zarrin Tasnim
Documentation
Professional Letter: ZT Letter of Support.pdf