Petition Letter
Dear Associate Dean (Studies),
I am a Political Studies student going into my third year. I am appealing a request for a late drop of STAT263 (Online - Summer, 2016). Due to my mental health struggles and illness, I was unable to perform to the best of my ability in this course, which I will outline the details of in the following letter.
Depression is a mental illness that runs in my family and I have struggled with for years, most often as seasonal depression. By March of second year, I was at the lowest point I had experienced in my life thus far and it continued into the summer. As I attempted to get some sun and as much self-care as I could, I was doing well in STAT263 and getting perfect grades in the weekly quizzes (which I ended with 100 on that portion), however, as summer continued, and I had a full time job along with LSAT preparation, my mental health began to take its toll. I tried my best on the midterm despite it, though I did not see the grade until after the final academic drop date. As some people, including myself, did poorly, Professor Molson was kind enough to make the final exam worth the majority of the grade and the midterm not count such that it meant it would yield a higher grade (and if it did not make it higher than he would use the original proportions for both the grades). This meant my final exam would have to be worth 80 of my grade.
Around the end of June to mid-July, family and personal concerns on top of the aforementioned full time job, LSAT studying, and the daunting pressure of the final being worth 80 took a heavy toll on me and I was back to that low point I thought I had overcome. As the exam neared and I tried to focus as much as I could, STAT263 is a math course and needs to be focused on in its entirety, continuously. With these shifts in my schedules and mood, this was quite the difficult task. I was further unable to get the proper assistance I needed, as it was an online course, which this experience also taught me is definitely not my learning style in any way.
My immensely poor grade (44) in this course is shocking to me, but mostly to see, as I knew that my depression had deprived me from learning and taking in the information and committing the course to the standard I always do otherwise. It is completely an outlier in comparison to the rest of my grades at Queen's University, where before this my lowest grade as a Political Studies major has been a B. This is also my first, and hopefully last, appeal request at my time here at Queen's.
The only medical professional I have spoken with about my depression is my family doctor in Oakville, Ontario. Near the end of summer, he wrote me a note to bring to Queen's to speak to a councilor about my depression. I never went into details with him about it, as he would help me through it on a mental health-care standpoint - exercise, eating right, etc. though unfortunately the issues go much deeper psychologically. Thus, though I do not have anyone to vouch for the depression in details of my circumstances, he has known about it for a while now and therefore the attached note is all I have with me since coming back to Kingston.
After meeting with the Academic Advisor Cindy Butts, she recommended I go through with this appeal due to my extenuating circumstances and past successful academic performances. Further, she, as well as most people in my life, suggested talking to a professional and directed me to Student Wellness Services and details on how it works. Talking to someone about my depression is a fear I am trying to overcome and is part of my plan to improve myself and this grade. I have already enrolled myself in STAT263 for this upcoming Fall semester, and I do highly believe that the fact that I will be taking it in class versus online whilst seeking out mental health help throughout the semester will yield successful results. If it is the material I struggle with, I will seek out the help I need through my professor, peers, and teaching assistants; resources I lacked being home in Oakville and taking the course online. Though I have not overcome all my issues, I am currently in a better place than I was this past summer and I have faith on my ability to do my best this time around.
Thank you very much for your time,
Sherry Hussain (10138632)
I am a Political Studies student going into my third year. I am appealing a request for a late drop of STAT263 (Online - Summer, 2016). Due to my mental health struggles and illness, I was unable to perform to the best of my ability in this course, which I will outline the details of in the following letter.
Depression is a mental illness that runs in my family and I have struggled with for years, most often as seasonal depression. By March of second year, I was at the lowest point I had experienced in my life thus far and it continued into the summer. As I attempted to get some sun and as much self-care as I could, I was doing well in STAT263 and getting perfect grades in the weekly quizzes (which I ended with 100 on that portion), however, as summer continued, and I had a full time job along with LSAT preparation, my mental health began to take its toll. I tried my best on the midterm despite it, though I did not see the grade until after the final academic drop date. As some people, including myself, did poorly, Professor Molson was kind enough to make the final exam worth the majority of the grade and the midterm not count such that it meant it would yield a higher grade (and if it did not make it higher than he would use the original proportions for both the grades). This meant my final exam would have to be worth 80 of my grade.
Around the end of June to mid-July, family and personal concerns on top of the aforementioned full time job, LSAT studying, and the daunting pressure of the final being worth 80 took a heavy toll on me and I was back to that low point I thought I had overcome. As the exam neared and I tried to focus as much as I could, STAT263 is a math course and needs to be focused on in its entirety, continuously. With these shifts in my schedules and mood, this was quite the difficult task. I was further unable to get the proper assistance I needed, as it was an online course, which this experience also taught me is definitely not my learning style in any way.
My immensely poor grade (44) in this course is shocking to me, but mostly to see, as I knew that my depression had deprived me from learning and taking in the information and committing the course to the standard I always do otherwise. It is completely an outlier in comparison to the rest of my grades at Queen's University, where before this my lowest grade as a Political Studies major has been a B. This is also my first, and hopefully last, appeal request at my time here at Queen's.
The only medical professional I have spoken with about my depression is my family doctor in Oakville, Ontario. Near the end of summer, he wrote me a note to bring to Queen's to speak to a councilor about my depression. I never went into details with him about it, as he would help me through it on a mental health-care standpoint - exercise, eating right, etc. though unfortunately the issues go much deeper psychologically. Thus, though I do not have anyone to vouch for the depression in details of my circumstances, he has known about it for a while now and therefore the attached note is all I have with me since coming back to Kingston.
After meeting with the Academic Advisor Cindy Butts, she recommended I go through with this appeal due to my extenuating circumstances and past successful academic performances. Further, she, as well as most people in my life, suggested talking to a professional and directed me to Student Wellness Services and details on how it works. Talking to someone about my depression is a fear I am trying to overcome and is part of my plan to improve myself and this grade. I have already enrolled myself in STAT263 for this upcoming Fall semester, and I do highly believe that the fact that I will be taking it in class versus online whilst seeking out mental health help throughout the semester will yield successful results. If it is the material I struggle with, I will seek out the help I need through my professor, peers, and teaching assistants; resources I lacked being home in Oakville and taking the course online. Though I have not overcome all my issues, I am currently in a better place than I was this past summer and I have faith on my ability to do my best this time around.
Thank you very much for your time,
Sherry Hussain (10138632)