Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: To Whom It May Concern,

My name is Connor MacKenzie, I am originally a member of the class of 2017, I officially just passed my final course at Queen??s University, and, as personal as it is, I have Bipolar Disorder. This is not my first academic appeal, but it is hopefully my last. This appeal will outline my request, the supporting documentation, and my desired outcome, but before I delve into that, I would like to share my story.
I was a student at Queen??s on campus from 2013-2018, and then a student online from 2018-2022, pursuing my Bachelor of Arts in Sociology. Similarly to Bipolar Disorder, throughout my tenure at Queen??s, I have experienced several highs and low. I began to struggle early in my academic journey. It took about a year to eventually seek help. Unbeknownst to my parents or friends, I saw a number of doctors through Student Health and Wellness, as well as on my own, and I was diagnosed with anxiety disorders and clinical depression. I was prescribed 6 different medications, none of which worked, all while trying, albeit unsuccessfully, to graduate. After leaving the Queen??s campus, I took an unconventional root. I sailed across the Pacific Ocean, worked a variety of jobs including starting my own company, and battled a morally and legally reprehensible business partner, leading to a near bankruptcy. Throughout this all, I continued to try and graduate, course after course and failure after failure. Finally, in the winter of 2019 and spring of 2020, I found medical treatment at CAMH in Toronto and was finally diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder.
As you may or may not know, Bipolar Disorder is a mental disorder that causes irregular swings in behaviour and mood, leading to manic and depressive episodes. After this diagnosis, my world changed. My diagnosis allowed me to understand my prior struggles. It helped illustrate why my previous medications were actually hurting rather than helping. My prior diagnoses and prescriptions worked to cure my depression, leaving me unbridled during my manic episodes, and then solving my manic episodes, leaving me exposed to detrimental episodes of depression. There were times at Queen??s when I would go days without sleeping for a period of weeks during my manic episodes, and the periods where I wouldn??t leave bed for days during my depressive episodes. I was alone, dealing with something neither I, nor my doctors, could figure out, and I spiraled. Evidently, this was not conducive to academic success.
Yet, I continued to try. Failure after failure, I continued to try. It got to a point where I was wasting money hand over fist trying, pursuing the definition of insanity, trying the same thing over and over expecting a different result, but I tried nonetheless. And the reason I tried was because, deep down, I knew I had the potential. I wasn??t academically limited, I simply couldn??t string together a semester of continuity before another Bipolar swing knocked me off track.
Then I got help. I saw a psychiatrist, who diagnosed me and prescribed me medication that worked. I went to group and individual therapy sessions, read and studied my illness, made changes in my routine and personal life, and for the first time in almost 7 years, I finally started to get better? and better, and better. When my doctors and I thought I was healthy enough, I re-enrolled in school and began taking classes with the end goal of finishing my degree and becoming a Queen??s graduate. I passed two courses in the summer of 2021, three in the fall of 2021, and my final two in winter of 2022. I have now completed my academic course requirements, and I have one final step before graduation, getting my GPA to the acceptable threshold.
My GPA is in the dumps, and I acknowledge that. I am a few points below the minimum threshold of 1.6 to graduate. Arguably, if I had quit trying and stopped failing, I might not even be writing this letter, but low and behold, here we are.
My request for this academic appeals is as follows. I am looking to have the failed courses from the Fall of 2019 semester, Winter of 2018 semester, Fall of 2017 semester, Summer of 2017 semester, Winter of 2017 semester, Fall of 2016 and Summer of 2016 dropped from my transcript. With these grades omitted, my GPA will rise to well above the necessary level, and I will be able to proudly and finally graduate from Queen??s University. I have attached and am able and willing to provide any and all necessary documentation from the medical professionals I have worked with at your discretion, documenting and supporting all information that I have provided for you above.
I implore you to please consider this appeal not only on the medical merit, but also on the personal merit. I never gave up on Queen??s University. I worked tirelessly for nine years to become one thing, a Queen??s University graduate, and I hope that I will be able to finally achieve that goal, with your help. The Queen??s University slogan is ??Wisdom and knowledge shall be the stability of thy times,? and I believe throughout this journey, I have gained not only the knowledge, but the wisdom to prosper in this world and represent the Queen??s University and it??s principles each and every day.
Finally, and less importantly I want to share the intangibles that Queen??s has offered to me and that I have offered to the Queen??s. While at Queen??s, as an athlete, I won 2 National Championships and a World Championship while competing on the Varsity Sailing Team. I was an associate coach for the Varsity Sailing Team. I participated in Queen??s Model Parliament and Queen??s Sports Industries Conference. Most importantly, I met my wife, a Queen??s graduate herself, during my tenure at Queen??s.
Queen??s has been the most important part of my formative life, and I hope to be able to one day say proudly, that I am a Queen??s alumnus.
Cha Gheill


Sincerely,
Connor Angus MacKenzie
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