Petition Letter
My name is Nisha Ulun, and I have recently been notified that I am required to withdraw from my studies for not meeting probationary conditions. However, in this letter I wish to appeal against this decision, explain the reasons why my school year proceeded the way it did, and request permission to return for the 2015-2016 term on academic probation. I am aware my transcript indicates poor academic performance this year, as well as my voluntary withdrawal the prior year from the Bader International Study Centre. My appeal is based on extenuating circumstances regarding my emotional and mental state that I felt ended up beyond my control.
As a background to why I voluntarily left BISC, I was in an overall state of depression, eventually leading to concerns for my general health and well-being when I felt unable to eat or leave bed to attend class. I left BISC prematurely with the consultation of an academic advisor after realizing that my academic year had fallen too far to recover. Upon returning home attempts were made to seek help, but an actual medical diagnosis was never determined, leaving me feeling frustrated over it.
Once this school year started, I felt prepared to start fresh and excel, but over the course of the fall term, I began to falter. Battling with doubts and feelings of inadequacy led to previous reoccurring problems that had not been resolved yet to resurface. Before attending Queen¿¿s, I struggled with depression for two years as a social shut in before I was able to pull my life together enough to rejoin society. My sense of time was skewed during that period and upon returning I became hyper aware of the time lost and thus everyone my own age would be already graduating while I was just starting out. This also impacted my ability to relate to my peers whether they were my age or younger, because their experience differed from my own. I started having difficulty sleeping and would often involuntarily stay up late into the night. Lack of proper rest left me struggling to focus in class, and a reverse sleep schedule eventually led to missing classes outright. Self-loathing about my absence at lectures combined with the exhaustion brought extra stress upon myself. My academics suffered as a result. Despite this, I often felt that I still understood the material in class when I managed to attend. However, the marks never matched my high expectations. Even though I made an attempt to visit two of my professors during office hours to understand and catch up, I often felt hopelessness over my abilities to perform, impacting my confidence and motivation to keep up. As the year progressed, it felt as though the experience at BISC was repeating itself and I greatly feared that I would not complete the year again. All the emotions I felt became overwhelming.
At the start of the winter term, I finally reached out for help. I discovered the services provided by Queen¿¿s thanks to my Don and the community. I found the Writing Centre, Outreach Counsellor, and Career Advisors to be exceptionally beneficial. By the end of Reading Week, I was able to regain control of my well-being a bit. I began to socialize with others in my class and dorm floor and develop relationships. Just realizing I had these resources on hand greatly improved my overall state of health and well-being, especially after feeling so alone. I regretted that these efforts came too late to recover my grades, but I made a goal to complete my school year regardless and managed to achieve it. Even though I technically failed courses, I am proud of my improvement, and it has led me to writing this appeal so that I may continue to further myself to become a truly successful student at Queen¿¿s.
I am now aware of the resources available to me and plan to use them thoroughly before becoming overly stressed. Queen¿¿s finally feels like a home to me, and I feel all the effort and struggle up to this point would be for naught if I were required to take a year off. I appreciate you taking the time to consider my situation, and hope you will understand my intentions. I look forward to your correspondence.
As a background to why I voluntarily left BISC, I was in an overall state of depression, eventually leading to concerns for my general health and well-being when I felt unable to eat or leave bed to attend class. I left BISC prematurely with the consultation of an academic advisor after realizing that my academic year had fallen too far to recover. Upon returning home attempts were made to seek help, but an actual medical diagnosis was never determined, leaving me feeling frustrated over it.
Once this school year started, I felt prepared to start fresh and excel, but over the course of the fall term, I began to falter. Battling with doubts and feelings of inadequacy led to previous reoccurring problems that had not been resolved yet to resurface. Before attending Queen¿¿s, I struggled with depression for two years as a social shut in before I was able to pull my life together enough to rejoin society. My sense of time was skewed during that period and upon returning I became hyper aware of the time lost and thus everyone my own age would be already graduating while I was just starting out. This also impacted my ability to relate to my peers whether they were my age or younger, because their experience differed from my own. I started having difficulty sleeping and would often involuntarily stay up late into the night. Lack of proper rest left me struggling to focus in class, and a reverse sleep schedule eventually led to missing classes outright. Self-loathing about my absence at lectures combined with the exhaustion brought extra stress upon myself. My academics suffered as a result. Despite this, I often felt that I still understood the material in class when I managed to attend. However, the marks never matched my high expectations. Even though I made an attempt to visit two of my professors during office hours to understand and catch up, I often felt hopelessness over my abilities to perform, impacting my confidence and motivation to keep up. As the year progressed, it felt as though the experience at BISC was repeating itself and I greatly feared that I would not complete the year again. All the emotions I felt became overwhelming.
At the start of the winter term, I finally reached out for help. I discovered the services provided by Queen¿¿s thanks to my Don and the community. I found the Writing Centre, Outreach Counsellor, and Career Advisors to be exceptionally beneficial. By the end of Reading Week, I was able to regain control of my well-being a bit. I began to socialize with others in my class and dorm floor and develop relationships. Just realizing I had these resources on hand greatly improved my overall state of health and well-being, especially after feeling so alone. I regretted that these efforts came too late to recover my grades, but I made a goal to complete my school year regardless and managed to achieve it. Even though I technically failed courses, I am proud of my improvement, and it has led me to writing this appeal so that I may continue to further myself to become a truly successful student at Queen¿¿s.
I am now aware of the resources available to me and plan to use them thoroughly before becoming overly stressed. Queen¿¿s finally feels like a home to me, and I feel all the effort and struggle up to this point would be for naught if I were required to take a year off. I appreciate you taking the time to consider my situation, and hope you will understand my intentions. I look forward to your correspondence.