Academic Plan
Dear Associate Dean,
I sincerely wish to continue my studies at Queen's in September of 2023. I am providing the following Academic Plan outlining the steps I have taken to date and those that I will take moving forward to help me succeed in the coming year.
My Academic Plan:
1. The first and most important step I took to deal with my situation was to start working with a psychotherapist, Aisley McCarthy.
I had weekly appointments with Aisley to help me get through the second semester. I am now working with her on a bi-weekly basis for the foreseeable future. She is helping me rebuild my confidence and develop coping skills that I can use when I feel my anxiety flare up.
Aisley is helping me set healthy boundaries in my everyday relationships and ensure that those boundaries are respected. We are working to build my resilience so that I am not as deeply affected by negative events that will inevitably happen.
Together, we are developing strategies to prevent further bullying. I will continue to work with Aisley throughout the school year.
2. I moved to a new house with a new set of roommates who have no attachments to my previous roommates. The latter are no longer a part of my life. My living environment is now a positive one.
3. I booked an appointment with SASS to help me learn strategies for better notetaking, time management, coping mechanisms for stress, and exam studying tips. My first appointment is Monday, May 29th.
4. I plan to access SASS's services for the summer and continue to make use of them throughout the 2023-2024 school year.
5. I have decided to pursue a different program after a conversation with an academic advisor. When I was in high school, I was convinced I wanted to pursue a degree in Biochemistry. I have always loved, and done well in, Biology. Chemistry was my weakest mark in high school, but I loved my teacher. As a result, I thought that I would love Biochemistry. After reflecting on the results of the past two years and how I felt about each course, I have come to realize that I do not enjoy Chemistry and Physics. My interest is in Biology.
After seeing my final grades, I made an appointment with an academic advisor to discuss my options. We explored the option of taking Biology as a major to ensure that I am only taking courses I enjoy.
6. I plan to take 3 or 4 courses instead of 5 in the coming year. I will evaluate the best choice with an advisor.
7. I have started to go to the gym daily to work out. I began during the winter term to offset the stress I was experiencing. I have purchased a membership to ARC for the summer. This is helping me to remain healthy and better deal with stress.
8. I did well in my computer science course in the winter, as mentioned in Part 1 of my Petition. My father acted as a tutor who helped me understand the material and work through blocks. My final grade for that course was an A-. This is a testament to what I'm capable of when I get the support I need. My work with SASS will help me improve my study and exam preparation skills. If need be, I will work with an ASUS tutor for a course if I find that I'm having difficulty with the material.
9. I am taking two summer courses, PSYC 100 and PATH 120, and I'm enjoying them. The work is going well. I have a study schedule that I maintain faithfully.
10. For current and future courses, I will seek help from the course professors and T.A.'s to ensure that I remain on track.
11. I've just learned that there is a Peer Mentor program at Queen's. The link is currently not working. I will sign up for this program as soon as the link is functional.
12. Once I have the result of the Petition, I will make an appointment to speak with an advisor to talk about the next best steps to get on track to obtaining an honours degree in Biology.
Sincerely,
Annick Levison
I sincerely wish to continue my studies at Queen's in September of 2023. I am providing the following Academic Plan outlining the steps I have taken to date and those that I will take moving forward to help me succeed in the coming year.
My Academic Plan:
1. The first and most important step I took to deal with my situation was to start working with a psychotherapist, Aisley McCarthy.
I had weekly appointments with Aisley to help me get through the second semester. I am now working with her on a bi-weekly basis for the foreseeable future. She is helping me rebuild my confidence and develop coping skills that I can use when I feel my anxiety flare up.
Aisley is helping me set healthy boundaries in my everyday relationships and ensure that those boundaries are respected. We are working to build my resilience so that I am not as deeply affected by negative events that will inevitably happen.
Together, we are developing strategies to prevent further bullying. I will continue to work with Aisley throughout the school year.
2. I moved to a new house with a new set of roommates who have no attachments to my previous roommates. The latter are no longer a part of my life. My living environment is now a positive one.
3. I booked an appointment with SASS to help me learn strategies for better notetaking, time management, coping mechanisms for stress, and exam studying tips. My first appointment is Monday, May 29th.
4. I plan to access SASS's services for the summer and continue to make use of them throughout the 2023-2024 school year.
5. I have decided to pursue a different program after a conversation with an academic advisor. When I was in high school, I was convinced I wanted to pursue a degree in Biochemistry. I have always loved, and done well in, Biology. Chemistry was my weakest mark in high school, but I loved my teacher. As a result, I thought that I would love Biochemistry. After reflecting on the results of the past two years and how I felt about each course, I have come to realize that I do not enjoy Chemistry and Physics. My interest is in Biology.
After seeing my final grades, I made an appointment with an academic advisor to discuss my options. We explored the option of taking Biology as a major to ensure that I am only taking courses I enjoy.
6. I plan to take 3 or 4 courses instead of 5 in the coming year. I will evaluate the best choice with an advisor.
7. I have started to go to the gym daily to work out. I began during the winter term to offset the stress I was experiencing. I have purchased a membership to ARC for the summer. This is helping me to remain healthy and better deal with stress.
8. I did well in my computer science course in the winter, as mentioned in Part 1 of my Petition. My father acted as a tutor who helped me understand the material and work through blocks. My final grade for that course was an A-. This is a testament to what I'm capable of when I get the support I need. My work with SASS will help me improve my study and exam preparation skills. If need be, I will work with an ASUS tutor for a course if I find that I'm having difficulty with the material.
9. I am taking two summer courses, PSYC 100 and PATH 120, and I'm enjoying them. The work is going well. I have a study schedule that I maintain faithfully.
10. For current and future courses, I will seek help from the course professors and T.A.'s to ensure that I remain on track.
11. I've just learned that there is a Peer Mentor program at Queen's. The link is currently not working. I will sign up for this program as soon as the link is functional.
12. Once I have the result of the Petition, I will make an appointment to speak with an advisor to talk about the next best steps to get on track to obtaining an honours degree in Biology.
Sincerely,
Annick Levison