Petition Letter
Dear Dr. Jenn Stepheson
My name is Jacob Baines and I??m happy to say I just finished my first year at Queen??s University. I??m appealing to the Faculty of Arts and Science in hopes of encouragement and support to retake the course Social Determinants of Health (HLTH 101) during the summer. I took said course initially during the first semester, receiving a letter grade of C. With the upcoming declaration of majors, I??m required to receive a minimum letter grade of a B with hopes of majoring in Health Studies. With this, I need to improve my grade in the Social Determinants of Health course.
When I initially took the course, I intended to work very hard, however, as the semester continued, many other courses received priority where I struggled with course load as many first years have as well. As a first year at the time, I was simply unprepared for the course load and struggled with the transition which was demonstrated by my final grades in some courses such as Social Determinants of Health. Since then, I have improved not only my knowledge but how to improve in all my courses such as proper time management and simply understanding the learning objectives taught in classes. It??s been brought to my attention that this course is already ongoing however, I??m confident that I??m able to catch up and thrive in this course as I??m very motivated and eager to begin learning as soon as possible.
When viewing courses offered to health studies majors, I??m simply far more interested and excited to take said courses as many of the courses I had taken last year did not spark any sort of interest which was shown by my CGPA. This also correlates with a couple of extenuating circumstances. The first large extenuating circumstance is regarding an illness. In December of 2022, right before the exam period, I became very sick with what was believed to be influenza. I unfortunately had to go home for the duration of the exam period and have my exams deferred until January which hindered my ability to study for many exams and do well in Social Determinants of Health as courses such as Psychology simply took priority during the time. Secondly, as a Type 1 Diabetic, the transition was extremely difficult. The transition from a pediatric hospital with an excellent staff to KGH where I was expected to endure challenges on my own was a huge change where I had to spend lots of time focusing on my health and meeting requirements for KGH and government funding.
With this, I believe I am in a much better situation which will ensure my success in the course and begin my journey within a health studies major. Having proper medical requirements set up, understanding how to effectively participate and thrive in courses, and simply being more interested in future courses allows myself to be confident with success within the health studies major. I would be extremely grateful if you could consider my appeal and grant me permission to retake Social Determinants of Health as I??m willing to work diligently to achieve my goal as a dedicated student at Queen??s University.
My name is Jacob Baines and I??m happy to say I just finished my first year at Queen??s University. I??m appealing to the Faculty of Arts and Science in hopes of encouragement and support to retake the course Social Determinants of Health (HLTH 101) during the summer. I took said course initially during the first semester, receiving a letter grade of C. With the upcoming declaration of majors, I??m required to receive a minimum letter grade of a B with hopes of majoring in Health Studies. With this, I need to improve my grade in the Social Determinants of Health course.
When I initially took the course, I intended to work very hard, however, as the semester continued, many other courses received priority where I struggled with course load as many first years have as well. As a first year at the time, I was simply unprepared for the course load and struggled with the transition which was demonstrated by my final grades in some courses such as Social Determinants of Health. Since then, I have improved not only my knowledge but how to improve in all my courses such as proper time management and simply understanding the learning objectives taught in classes. It??s been brought to my attention that this course is already ongoing however, I??m confident that I??m able to catch up and thrive in this course as I??m very motivated and eager to begin learning as soon as possible.
When viewing courses offered to health studies majors, I??m simply far more interested and excited to take said courses as many of the courses I had taken last year did not spark any sort of interest which was shown by my CGPA. This also correlates with a couple of extenuating circumstances. The first large extenuating circumstance is regarding an illness. In December of 2022, right before the exam period, I became very sick with what was believed to be influenza. I unfortunately had to go home for the duration of the exam period and have my exams deferred until January which hindered my ability to study for many exams and do well in Social Determinants of Health as courses such as Psychology simply took priority during the time. Secondly, as a Type 1 Diabetic, the transition was extremely difficult. The transition from a pediatric hospital with an excellent staff to KGH where I was expected to endure challenges on my own was a huge change where I had to spend lots of time focusing on my health and meeting requirements for KGH and government funding.
With this, I believe I am in a much better situation which will ensure my success in the course and begin my journey within a health studies major. Having proper medical requirements set up, understanding how to effectively participate and thrive in courses, and simply being more interested in future courses allows myself to be confident with success within the health studies major. I would be extremely grateful if you could consider my appeal and grant me permission to retake Social Determinants of Health as I??m willing to work diligently to achieve my goal as a dedicated student at Queen??s University.