Petition Letter
To whom it may concern,
I am appealing to drop BCHM 432 (Fall, 2024).
During the end of the fall semester, I experienced a mental health crisis due to my mother selling my childhood home abruptly, which was the last connection to my dad who died when I was 13. I was pretty distraught and was made aware of this the day of my BCHM 432 final exam. After this occurred, my mother stopped having contact with me over the holiday which exacerbated how I was feeling. As a result, I spiraled and was extremely upset. I have since been in the hospital twice and have been dealing with a psychiatrist to figure out my treatment plan. Because of this, I significantly reduced my course load this semester to only one class and my thesis project which I felt would be manageable. However, because I deferred my exam last semester, I was supposed to write it at the beginning of January. However, right before the exam, I was brought to the hospital again and had to defer the exam to the end of the semester. I am still working with the psychiatrist and family doctor to figure out the best treatment plan and support, and I am not in the mental headspace to be able to do/study for an exam. I am only petitioning to drop this course because I was able to complete all my other courses last semester prior to finding out this information and experiencing my mental health crisis. I thought I would be able to complete the exam at the end of the semester but I am still not stable and do not want to continue pushing off the course.
My current plan is to return to Queen’s for an extra semester next year to complete the courses I am now missing from this semester. Therefore, I would be able to pick up the extra course in the fall. By that time, I will have had more time to work with my doctors and ensure the correct supports are available so that I can succeed. I was always a strong student before this happened, keeping a 4.0+ GPA each semester and know that once I get the correct supports I can get back to how I used to function. But right now, I am not in the position to complete this course or exam.
Should you need any further information, my doctors support this decision and can provide any documentation you may need.
Thank you in advance,
Karleigh Sutton
20272449
I am appealing to drop BCHM 432 (Fall, 2024).
During the end of the fall semester, I experienced a mental health crisis due to my mother selling my childhood home abruptly, which was the last connection to my dad who died when I was 13. I was pretty distraught and was made aware of this the day of my BCHM 432 final exam. After this occurred, my mother stopped having contact with me over the holiday which exacerbated how I was feeling. As a result, I spiraled and was extremely upset. I have since been in the hospital twice and have been dealing with a psychiatrist to figure out my treatment plan. Because of this, I significantly reduced my course load this semester to only one class and my thesis project which I felt would be manageable. However, because I deferred my exam last semester, I was supposed to write it at the beginning of January. However, right before the exam, I was brought to the hospital again and had to defer the exam to the end of the semester. I am still working with the psychiatrist and family doctor to figure out the best treatment plan and support, and I am not in the mental headspace to be able to do/study for an exam. I am only petitioning to drop this course because I was able to complete all my other courses last semester prior to finding out this information and experiencing my mental health crisis. I thought I would be able to complete the exam at the end of the semester but I am still not stable and do not want to continue pushing off the course.
My current plan is to return to Queen’s for an extra semester next year to complete the courses I am now missing from this semester. Therefore, I would be able to pick up the extra course in the fall. By that time, I will have had more time to work with my doctors and ensure the correct supports are available so that I can succeed. I was always a strong student before this happened, keeping a 4.0+ GPA each semester and know that once I get the correct supports I can get back to how I used to function. But right now, I am not in the position to complete this course or exam.
Should you need any further information, my doctors support this decision and can provide any documentation you may need.
Thank you in advance,
Karleigh Sutton
20272449