Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: I am appealing the Faculty's decision that I must withdraw from Queen's for the upcoming 2022-23 year.

Thank you for allowing me to appeal and take the time to review my letter,

Reflecting back on my first year at Queen's, I have come to realize I was unprepared for the levels of challenge I faced. Although I learned a lot, and became a much better musician over the 2021-22 year, I was unsuccessful in my studies.

Since my birthday is late december I ended up starting school at 17, making me quite a bit younger than my peers. It was hard for me to leave the house for the first time, especially with so many responsibilities and classes to manage.

Touching on how COVID impacted me:
Grades 11 and 12 were significantly impacted, being in online classes made it difficult not only to learn the subjects, but also learning and preparing myself for university. Not having final exams and very little contact with teachers for 2 years have made it much more difficult to take and prepare for the ones in my first year at Queen's. In high school, having online courses for the first time made it harder to learn and left me less prepared for post secondary. Basically, my high school experience really deteriorated over those two years.

Then again, I struggled in university and residence with all the switching between online and in person classes in first year. I was a bit timid due to both being in my first year and concerns about either getting covid or passing it along, as well when covid did pass through my friend group and family.

I had difficulty in multiple courses such as theory. I feel that high school didn't adequately prepare me for the level of theory as my class had been split amongst 3 years of students in high school due to lack of popularity. This is why I ended up switching musc 105 late in the year, however switching so late, lowered my mark. Keyboard was hard for me to easily access at Queen's during the year, and that was an instrument I had never played before.

I had trouble asking for help last year, I ended up digging myself in too deep to get out. It was overwhelming at times especially in the fall. I realize now that was the wrong way to go, and should have asked for help sooner.

If allowed to come back for the coming fall semester I think I would be much better prepared to handle the workload. Having already been through a year I know better what to expect. I will be in a quiet house where I feel there will be less distractions than residence. As well, more breathing room to make studying easier as meeting up to study would be closer than west campus where I lived last year.
I have also taken some time over the summer to prepare for the courses I had issues with last year in hopes of better success this coming year. I took a month-long course through Royal Conservatory for Grade 8 theory in hopes to better prepare myself. As well, I found a vocal coach who can help me with theory, ear training and keyboard. I have also been practicing drumming over the summer as a percussion student.

If I am required to take the year off, it will be counter-productive for me as I do not have access to a timpani or marimba, which were already quite new instruments to me. I feel like I was gaining momentum at the end of the year with practical performance and proficiency, and taking a year off will be detrimental. Music has been a rock for me over the years and I feel strongly that continuing my studies will prove much more fruitful.

To recap, last year I was unprepared for the upcoming school year in many ways. Starting younger, being less social during a year of Covid was very hard for me. I had not had an exam since my first semester of grade 11, then the transition between in person and online led to my failure in many courses.

Moving forwards I have started working with a tutor prior to school's start, as well as some prep work over the summer. I know I will have a much better grasp on my studies this year and will be prepared should problems arise.

Music is my passion and constant. Being able to perform again was definitely one of the highlights of my first year. I hope I can continue my studies at Queen's. This experience has taught me that I have people who I can ask for help. Greg Runions and Dr Lind Have been invaluable.

Thank you for your consideration.