Petition Letter
Dear Associate Dean (Studies),
I, Hussein Gamal Khadr, would like to appeal the 21-day Appeal Deadline. The extenuating circumstances that prevented me from appealing within the deadline play a very close relation as to why I was unable to perform academically within the space of that year.
As I entered my first term of my time at Queen¿¿s I was incredibly terrified and nervous, because of the extenuating circumstances that were beyond my control that came with me. I began the year with a shoulder injury that had prevented me from taking part in any sporting activities which were a fundamental part of my life and an important pull for me in deciding to come to this institute. Due to this circumstance, it had created a psychological challenge that had taken me very long time to overcome. Additionally, within the beginning of my first semester my grandmother was diagnosed with Colon Cancer, and shortly after within the month of November my grandfather had to receive a triple bypass surgery because of a heart attack. Both my grandmother and grandfather played an important role in my life, filling the void of a father. At the age of seven, my father passed of lung cancer and ever since then my two grandparents were there beside my mother to help her raise my three other siblings and I. When my mom would leave for work at 6:30 in the morning they would help get us ready, and when school finished we would go to their home and wait for my mom to finish work.
Therefore, their weight in my life is beyond my control. Moreover, the majority of my classes were mandatory and the information taught was only accessible through class attendance, therefore when it came necessary to return home on a routine basis in an effort to emotionally aid my mother and siblings it had an unfavorable effect on my academic performance. I also had to aid physically around the house to help care for my grandparents when my younger siblings were at school. This continued into the second semester, where it further hindered me psychologically by creating more issues for me to deal with personally as I was unable to open up due to fear of reactions. Furthermore, this leads to both a lack of motivation in attending school and a focus on tending to my grandparents who had nearly past, which I was unprepared to fathom. Likewise, this led into the summer where it hindered me in finding a job because I had to spend the majority of my time supporting my family emotionally and physically. This continued to lead to the disregard of any deadlines within summer and second year due to the continued psychological blows I was experiencing.
The way these affected my courses was because most my courses were mandatory as previously mentioned, which a grade was associated with attendance. More importantly, I was simply terrified of sharing with anyone the circumstances because I was not ready. It also affected me in my courses, because it continued to build psychological issues for me to deal with that forced me to stay in my room. I was left to think and worry what would I do if my grandparents passed and I was away from them not supporting them. I had to purchase many train and bus tickets home to constantly be around them.
However, I have proactively created a plan for myself which I have already begun to implement in my life. To start I switched from economics which was my initial focus, but that was because those who played important roles in my life continued to pressure me into it. Instead, I have switched to something such as history which classes spark more interest, therefore gaining motivation to study and attend class because I enjoy what I¿¿m doing. Not only that, but I have moved forward in seeing an academic advisor who has aided me in figuring out a plan for myself to perform highly academically so that I no longer should worry about staying afloat. Furthermore, the most important step forward is agreeing to meet with a counsellor so that I can begin to discuss the things I have experienced and ways that I can work around it, and by doing so I have realised the high amounts of resources at my disposal that in case an emergency like this ever occur again. I am assured I am not alone in receiving assistance in moving forward. If anything was to occur again I am prepared, as the first student in my family to attend university, deal with these issues and achieve the highest possibilities academically with my education.
I hope that my appeal is considered,
Regards,
Hussein Gamal Khadr
I, Hussein Gamal Khadr, would like to appeal the 21-day Appeal Deadline. The extenuating circumstances that prevented me from appealing within the deadline play a very close relation as to why I was unable to perform academically within the space of that year.
As I entered my first term of my time at Queen¿¿s I was incredibly terrified and nervous, because of the extenuating circumstances that were beyond my control that came with me. I began the year with a shoulder injury that had prevented me from taking part in any sporting activities which were a fundamental part of my life and an important pull for me in deciding to come to this institute. Due to this circumstance, it had created a psychological challenge that had taken me very long time to overcome. Additionally, within the beginning of my first semester my grandmother was diagnosed with Colon Cancer, and shortly after within the month of November my grandfather had to receive a triple bypass surgery because of a heart attack. Both my grandmother and grandfather played an important role in my life, filling the void of a father. At the age of seven, my father passed of lung cancer and ever since then my two grandparents were there beside my mother to help her raise my three other siblings and I. When my mom would leave for work at 6:30 in the morning they would help get us ready, and when school finished we would go to their home and wait for my mom to finish work.
Therefore, their weight in my life is beyond my control. Moreover, the majority of my classes were mandatory and the information taught was only accessible through class attendance, therefore when it came necessary to return home on a routine basis in an effort to emotionally aid my mother and siblings it had an unfavorable effect on my academic performance. I also had to aid physically around the house to help care for my grandparents when my younger siblings were at school. This continued into the second semester, where it further hindered me psychologically by creating more issues for me to deal with personally as I was unable to open up due to fear of reactions. Furthermore, this leads to both a lack of motivation in attending school and a focus on tending to my grandparents who had nearly past, which I was unprepared to fathom. Likewise, this led into the summer where it hindered me in finding a job because I had to spend the majority of my time supporting my family emotionally and physically. This continued to lead to the disregard of any deadlines within summer and second year due to the continued psychological blows I was experiencing.
The way these affected my courses was because most my courses were mandatory as previously mentioned, which a grade was associated with attendance. More importantly, I was simply terrified of sharing with anyone the circumstances because I was not ready. It also affected me in my courses, because it continued to build psychological issues for me to deal with that forced me to stay in my room. I was left to think and worry what would I do if my grandparents passed and I was away from them not supporting them. I had to purchase many train and bus tickets home to constantly be around them.
However, I have proactively created a plan for myself which I have already begun to implement in my life. To start I switched from economics which was my initial focus, but that was because those who played important roles in my life continued to pressure me into it. Instead, I have switched to something such as history which classes spark more interest, therefore gaining motivation to study and attend class because I enjoy what I¿¿m doing. Not only that, but I have moved forward in seeing an academic advisor who has aided me in figuring out a plan for myself to perform highly academically so that I no longer should worry about staying afloat. Furthermore, the most important step forward is agreeing to meet with a counsellor so that I can begin to discuss the things I have experienced and ways that I can work around it, and by doing so I have realised the high amounts of resources at my disposal that in case an emergency like this ever occur again. I am assured I am not alone in receiving assistance in moving forward. If anything was to occur again I am prepared, as the first student in my family to attend university, deal with these issues and achieve the highest possibilities academically with my education.
I hope that my appeal is considered,
Regards,
Hussein Gamal Khadr