Petition Letter
Dear Associate Dean,
I am writing this letter as I am requesting an appeal to potentially drop the failed courses from the past 2 semesters or have the marks removed from my gpa. Specifically, POLS 355, POLS 348, HIST 228 from Fall 2022 and SOCY 122 from winter 2022 and requesting Credit standing in POLS 328. The fall of 2021 was also very challenging for me as it was the beginning of everything but I just feel like it is a lot to request.
I have experienced a brutal past year. It all kind of began midway through the fall of 2021 and all through 2022. I was experiencing really bad mental health as I was struggling with family problems as well as a difficult end to a really toxic relationship. My overall mental health was at an all time low and I was speaking with a therapist trying to do anything that would help. It was really difficult for me to sleep at night as that was the only time to myself. During the day I would do anything to get my mind off of it but when I was alone that was all I could think about. When I would sit down and do work my mind would spiral and I couldn??t concentrate. I would find any chance I could to be around close people to me as it made me feel safe. At times it was difficult to even get out of bed as I wouldn??t sleep at night and then would sleep at any chance I could fall asleep. I was taking my anger out on people around me and was just clearly not in a good place. The winter semester came around and I decided to just take 1 course. This was a decision made by myself and my parents as we were trying to really focus on recovering from this mental battle. But things were not really getting better. The summer of 2022 helped me a lot as I was working with my friend and I had someone there for me to really talk about things. Near the end of the summer I did a lot of thinking and was stressed at the thought of taking another semester off. I decided to try to begin the 2022 spring semester taking just 4 courses as I thought I was getting a lot better. At this point I stopped speaking with my therapist which definitely was the wrong decision. On top of this it was my first season playing Queens lacrosse which added another obstacle to my plate. School was a battle and I was back in the same place I was before. During these periods it was extremely difficult to go to class as I couldn??t fall asleep at night and I had increased anxiety sitting in a classroom with others. I did not drop these courses before the deadline because I was trying to battle it out, I was attempting to see if I could keep going but near the end of each semester the worst of it hits me. The stress from class along with my other life struggles continues to catch up to me. I was also consistently going back to Toronto in between my lacrosse schedule to deal with my mental health. I was consistently missing assignments and the ones I did complete I was not putting the effort in that I could??ve, had I not been dealing with so much. These past semesters absolutely destroyed my gpa as I am currently on academic probation. These past semesters do not represent who I am as a student and more importantly who I am as a person. This semester I have dropped my course load down to 3 courses and have really been working on how I will battle this mental health in the future. School is really tough for me but so is life and I have been using this time to really not let the tough times impact who I am as a person. Going forward I plan on continuing with a small course load and speaking with a therapist every week. I have an iep which in the past I was not registered for but I have since registered myself and am using all the resources possible to help me through these tough times. I am glad in a sense that I have been through the worst and that for the future I know how to deal with trauma and pain best for me. What I have learned is everyone deals with pain in a different way and you have to figure out what works best for you. I have found working out to be my way to deal with this. Not only does it build confidence but it is also a great way to relieve stress and get you in a routine. I am writing this letter a little late as I honestly had no clue an appeal or petition system was in place for mental health. I have always talked to my professors about what I have been going through but I didn??t know I could speak with the faculty and dean to talk about what is really going on behind the scenes. I am extremely grateful for the resources at queens as I know many students at other schools going through problems of their own and they are kind of left out to dry.
This letter was very difficult to write as it brings me back to the past, I hope this letter shares a glimpse of my past year and touches on all the points necessary.
All the best,
Noah Wedgbury
20181012
I am writing this letter as I am requesting an appeal to potentially drop the failed courses from the past 2 semesters or have the marks removed from my gpa. Specifically, POLS 355, POLS 348, HIST 228 from Fall 2022 and SOCY 122 from winter 2022 and requesting Credit standing in POLS 328. The fall of 2021 was also very challenging for me as it was the beginning of everything but I just feel like it is a lot to request.
I have experienced a brutal past year. It all kind of began midway through the fall of 2021 and all through 2022. I was experiencing really bad mental health as I was struggling with family problems as well as a difficult end to a really toxic relationship. My overall mental health was at an all time low and I was speaking with a therapist trying to do anything that would help. It was really difficult for me to sleep at night as that was the only time to myself. During the day I would do anything to get my mind off of it but when I was alone that was all I could think about. When I would sit down and do work my mind would spiral and I couldn??t concentrate. I would find any chance I could to be around close people to me as it made me feel safe. At times it was difficult to even get out of bed as I wouldn??t sleep at night and then would sleep at any chance I could fall asleep. I was taking my anger out on people around me and was just clearly not in a good place. The winter semester came around and I decided to just take 1 course. This was a decision made by myself and my parents as we were trying to really focus on recovering from this mental battle. But things were not really getting better. The summer of 2022 helped me a lot as I was working with my friend and I had someone there for me to really talk about things. Near the end of the summer I did a lot of thinking and was stressed at the thought of taking another semester off. I decided to try to begin the 2022 spring semester taking just 4 courses as I thought I was getting a lot better. At this point I stopped speaking with my therapist which definitely was the wrong decision. On top of this it was my first season playing Queens lacrosse which added another obstacle to my plate. School was a battle and I was back in the same place I was before. During these periods it was extremely difficult to go to class as I couldn??t fall asleep at night and I had increased anxiety sitting in a classroom with others. I did not drop these courses before the deadline because I was trying to battle it out, I was attempting to see if I could keep going but near the end of each semester the worst of it hits me. The stress from class along with my other life struggles continues to catch up to me. I was also consistently going back to Toronto in between my lacrosse schedule to deal with my mental health. I was consistently missing assignments and the ones I did complete I was not putting the effort in that I could??ve, had I not been dealing with so much. These past semesters absolutely destroyed my gpa as I am currently on academic probation. These past semesters do not represent who I am as a student and more importantly who I am as a person. This semester I have dropped my course load down to 3 courses and have really been working on how I will battle this mental health in the future. School is really tough for me but so is life and I have been using this time to really not let the tough times impact who I am as a person. Going forward I plan on continuing with a small course load and speaking with a therapist every week. I have an iep which in the past I was not registered for but I have since registered myself and am using all the resources possible to help me through these tough times. I am glad in a sense that I have been through the worst and that for the future I know how to deal with trauma and pain best for me. What I have learned is everyone deals with pain in a different way and you have to figure out what works best for you. I have found working out to be my way to deal with this. Not only does it build confidence but it is also a great way to relieve stress and get you in a routine. I am writing this letter a little late as I honestly had no clue an appeal or petition system was in place for mental health. I have always talked to my professors about what I have been going through but I didn??t know I could speak with the faculty and dean to talk about what is really going on behind the scenes. I am extremely grateful for the resources at queens as I know many students at other schools going through problems of their own and they are kind of left out to dry.
This letter was very difficult to write as it brings me back to the past, I hope this letter shares a glimpse of my past year and touches on all the points necessary.
All the best,
Noah Wedgbury
20181012