Petition Letter
Dear Associate Dean (Studies)
My name is James Condon, and I have just finished my second year at Queen¿¿s University. I am appealing the Faculty¿¿s decision that I must withdraw from Queen¿¿s for a minimum of one year.
My experience at Queen¿¿s has been one of growth and set backs. When I was first applying for Queen¿¿s, I found that the Classics department had the most interesting subject material. However, as my goal was, and still is, to become a teacher, I analyzed that the job market was especially competitive for someone with a Bachelor in Arts. This lead to my decision to apply for Science with a plan to major in math and minor in a field of science. However, I struggled in first year. The math and science courses were very challenging, my motivation to learn the subject material dropped and I was placed on Academic Probation. My most interesting course in first year was the Introduction to Greek Civilization. I decided last summer to transition into Classical Studies because I found learning from an intriguing subject matter was more motivating. However, I was faced with the problem where I could not fully switch my schedule as I did not have enough units for second year classes in the Classics. As a result, I ended up taking a diverse group of classes which included religion, geography and geology this year. As the year progressed, I realized that I really enjoyed my Classics courses, and was not connecting to the subject material in the other courses. I struggled with the pressure of making the grades needed in the non-Classics courses knowing that I was on probation. I see that the gamble I took in registering for the Science degree in my first year impacted not only my first year progress, but also in the courses I was eligible to take in second year. I respectfully request that the Appeal committee look at my progress in the Classic courses and recognize my potential to be successful in future Classic courses. My marks were well above the academic average and my marks showed dramatic improvement when I took Classics courses during the winter semester. The final grades in all the Classics courses I took were above the minimum average needed to meet the requirements of academic probation. The courses fell between 65 ¿¿ 80 in each class. I thank you for your consideration with this appeal.
My name is James Condon, and I have just finished my second year at Queen¿¿s University. I am appealing the Faculty¿¿s decision that I must withdraw from Queen¿¿s for a minimum of one year.
My experience at Queen¿¿s has been one of growth and set backs. When I was first applying for Queen¿¿s, I found that the Classics department had the most interesting subject material. However, as my goal was, and still is, to become a teacher, I analyzed that the job market was especially competitive for someone with a Bachelor in Arts. This lead to my decision to apply for Science with a plan to major in math and minor in a field of science. However, I struggled in first year. The math and science courses were very challenging, my motivation to learn the subject material dropped and I was placed on Academic Probation. My most interesting course in first year was the Introduction to Greek Civilization. I decided last summer to transition into Classical Studies because I found learning from an intriguing subject matter was more motivating. However, I was faced with the problem where I could not fully switch my schedule as I did not have enough units for second year classes in the Classics. As a result, I ended up taking a diverse group of classes which included religion, geography and geology this year. As the year progressed, I realized that I really enjoyed my Classics courses, and was not connecting to the subject material in the other courses. I struggled with the pressure of making the grades needed in the non-Classics courses knowing that I was on probation. I see that the gamble I took in registering for the Science degree in my first year impacted not only my first year progress, but also in the courses I was eligible to take in second year. I respectfully request that the Appeal committee look at my progress in the Classic courses and recognize my potential to be successful in future Classic courses. My marks were well above the academic average and my marks showed dramatic improvement when I took Classics courses during the winter semester. The final grades in all the Classics courses I took were above the minimum average needed to meet the requirements of academic probation. The courses fell between 65 ¿¿ 80 in each class. I thank you for your consideration with this appeal.