Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Dear Jenn Stephenson, Pd.D.
Associate Dean (Studies),

My name is Abby Salmond and I have been attending Queen's University since September 2021. I am appealing to drop Eng 100 and receive credit standing for Geology 104, Philosophy 111, Psychology 100, and Cognitive Science 100.
During my first year at Queen's, I have experienced numerous extenuating challenges beyond my control regarding my mental health that have negatively affected my academic performance specifically during the winter semester of the 2021-2022 school year. Being diagnosed with ADHD, depression, and anxiety, I have been prescribed medication to help with these conditions since the age of 11. At the beginning of the year, I had been informed that I was not accepted into residence and that I would have to find another place to live while I attended classes on campus. I was able to rent a room in a house off-campus with all grad students. Unfortunately, unlike all my other friends from high school who had been accepted into residence, I felt very isolated and lonely for the entire year and had trouble making any connections with not only anyone in my off-campus house, but also any other first-year students that I would have been able to bond with if I had been in residence. After coming home for Christmas in December, several events took place including a decline in my mental health and subsequently a drastic medication adjustment that also greatly impacted my mental state. In December, my Mother also experienced various mental health challenges that resulted in her taking a mental health leave from her work for 4 months. During these 4 months, being at home was difficult not only because of my Mother's state but also due to other factors such as my Grandmother being diagnosed with Alzheimer's and having to be moved closer to my family for urgent care. As well as this, my family and I contracted COVID-19 on Christmas day preventing any festivities with any other family members that I haven't been able to celebrate with in years. With the outbreak in Kingston and the subsequent delay in coming back to campus from Christmas break, it was exceptionally hard for me to adjust to online schooling from home when my family was in such a difficult place. Because of this, I started seeing a therapist to help with my overwhelming stress and help to control my ADHD while continuing to do school online. After 2 months of learning from home, and then having to re-adjust once again to on-campus classes while attempting to learn with my anxiety of contracting COVID-19 again, I found it even more challenging to focus on my second-semester classes and complete my assignments. Additionally, prior to returning to on-campus learning, I decided that I needed assistance for the upcoming semester and reached out to my family doctor to inquire about accommodations for my learning disabilities. After successfully receiving documentation stating that I am more than eligible for academic accommodations, I emailed QSASS in attempt to learn how to apply these accommodations for the winter term. However, after receiving no follow-up to my submission of the intake form that included my academic documentation, I emailed several times to QSASS afterward only to receive various responses stating that I had to first complete the intake form (which I already completed). I did receive an email from Erin Gunsinger who had offered to make an appointment with me to help me with my accommodations. During the appointment, we discussed my learning disabilities and what specific accommodations I would like to receive and advised that she would send those requests directly to QSASS so that I could receive subsequent accommodations for the rest of my courses. Again, I didn't hear any follow-up and did not receive any accommodations.
Going forward for next year, I am planning to make various changes so that I will be able to succeed in my future studies. I will ensure my academic accommodations are in place for next year and I am also aware of all of the QSASS services and will be taking advantage of all the resources that the university offers. I am continuing to see my therapist weekly to help deal with my anxiety and depression and learn coping strategies to further manage my ADHD. As for my family life, my Mother is doing much better and has happily retired and my Grandmother is now in a specialized nursing home which takes the stress off of our family. With regards to my living situation in Kingston for next year, I have signed a lease with 5 of my closest friends who also attend Queen's. This significant change in environment will transform my mental health and eradicate my previous feelings of isolation that had taken such a toll on me last year. As well as my 5 other friends being extremely supportive and encouraging, being around others who will be just as dedicated to their studies as I will be will only improve my ability to focus and my motivation to do well as a second-year student at Queen's University. I am also going to be aware of the drop deadlines for the 2022-2023 school year so that I make sure not to overwhelm myself with too many classes. I will be using the upcoming late plan request period to choose my courses for next year. I hope to major in Gender Studies and take Sociology as an elective so that I can ultimately change majors in third year to Sociology and minor in Gender Studies.
Thank you so much for your consideration of my appeal. I look forward to hearing from you and hopefully a successful second year at Queen's University in 2022-2023.

Best Regards,

Abby Salmond
20302342
21ads11@queensu.ca