Petition Letter
I am writing this letter in the hopes of appealing my final grade in POLS 385, the mandatory statistics course for third year political studies majors.
I had a pretty good sense that I would struggle with this statistics course from day one. I have never been strong in math or science, despite my best efforts in taking optional courses in chemistry, physics, biology, and advanced functions in my final two years of high school. I knew these subjects didn't come naturally to me, so I always compensated by putting more hours in, yet continued getting results that were average at best. In these cases, I have generally considered myself as someone who works hard to overcome my challenges, developing a work ethic that I can say I am truly proud of. I care about my academics. I always have, and with aspirations to pursue a secondary degree in law, I sense that I always will. What has gotten me this far, however, has undoubtedly been the support of my mother, who has constantly uplifted me and instilled a confidence within me that I largely lacked in subjects like these for so long. She was my number one supporter and biggest fan, always the first I'd call to both celebrate my victories as well as to lean on over my failures. With the knowledge that I would have to take POLS 385 in the second semester of my third year, I knew I would ultimately get through it with the support of my mom behind me.
I woke up to the greatest shock of my life on November 28th, 2016, when my mom passed away. Coping with the grief of this immense loss to my family's lives and mine has not been easy. After returning to school and my part-time job in January, I began to notice that while I feel the loss of my mom at all times, the stressful and difficult moments had become tenfold. After my mom's passing, I began to experience episodes of extreme stress and anxiety that were entirely unfamiliar to me. The last text message I received from her mentioned my plans for writing the LSAT, as she was encouraging me to follow in her own footsteps of becoming a lawyer. While attending law school is every intention of my own, I began putting intense amounts of pressure on myself to succeed academically as a result of these last words, deeply hoping to make my mom proud. While juggling a fairly demanding part-time job and a full course load, I failed to realize I was still in the midst of an intense grieving process, and my mental health began to falter.
I believe I gave POLS 385 the best I could, given my circumstances. I went to every lecture and tutorial, completed all assignments on time and studied hard for the in-class tests. I was actually fairly satisfied going into the final exam with a B-, as I felt this was a decent mark for a course I had zero interest in and very little proficiency for. What was particularly difficult for me was not the course itself, but the fact I didn't have my mom to call when I felt discouraged, which ended up being most of the time. This experience has, as a result, taught me to stand on my own two feet, and I feel that I have matured in a sense as I have learned to face things head on independently, which I am grateful for.
The final exam, however, did not go well for me. While I studied hard, I had multiple mental breakdowns over my fear of failure and went into the test in a very bad headspace. I am not someone who normally asks for people's pity, and I even feel a bit self-conscious to be requesting to appeal this grade, as it means I have had to accept defeat. The point I am trying to illustrate is that this course is not reflective of my abilities within the political studies program, and I was left to endure something that did not come at all naturally to me during a rather unfavourable period of my life. I have developed a greater sense of compassion for those who struggle with mental health issues, and I now realize that extenuating circumstances truly do exist. Having gone through this experience, I have a greater amount of respect for those who make it out of bed and give it their best despite what they are battling.
While I believe this course would be incredibly useful in the event that I chose to write a thesis in my fourth year of the program, I am opting to instead focus on the LSAT as well as boosting my overall GPA. Thus, this course had little application for my future in the political studies program, and I am left feeling slightly unsure why it is mandatory for those who are not planning on writing the thesis.
In light of all of this, I am asking for recognition of completion of this course, but to have the value of the grade removed from my official transcript and GPA (Appeal for Credit Standing). I take great comfort in the fact that the Queen's community even offers me the opportunity to appeal an academic grade, and I thank you in advance for your time and consideration regardless of your final decision.
Sincerely,
Laura Foran
I had a pretty good sense that I would struggle with this statistics course from day one. I have never been strong in math or science, despite my best efforts in taking optional courses in chemistry, physics, biology, and advanced functions in my final two years of high school. I knew these subjects didn't come naturally to me, so I always compensated by putting more hours in, yet continued getting results that were average at best. In these cases, I have generally considered myself as someone who works hard to overcome my challenges, developing a work ethic that I can say I am truly proud of. I care about my academics. I always have, and with aspirations to pursue a secondary degree in law, I sense that I always will. What has gotten me this far, however, has undoubtedly been the support of my mother, who has constantly uplifted me and instilled a confidence within me that I largely lacked in subjects like these for so long. She was my number one supporter and biggest fan, always the first I'd call to both celebrate my victories as well as to lean on over my failures. With the knowledge that I would have to take POLS 385 in the second semester of my third year, I knew I would ultimately get through it with the support of my mom behind me.
I woke up to the greatest shock of my life on November 28th, 2016, when my mom passed away. Coping with the grief of this immense loss to my family's lives and mine has not been easy. After returning to school and my part-time job in January, I began to notice that while I feel the loss of my mom at all times, the stressful and difficult moments had become tenfold. After my mom's passing, I began to experience episodes of extreme stress and anxiety that were entirely unfamiliar to me. The last text message I received from her mentioned my plans for writing the LSAT, as she was encouraging me to follow in her own footsteps of becoming a lawyer. While attending law school is every intention of my own, I began putting intense amounts of pressure on myself to succeed academically as a result of these last words, deeply hoping to make my mom proud. While juggling a fairly demanding part-time job and a full course load, I failed to realize I was still in the midst of an intense grieving process, and my mental health began to falter.
I believe I gave POLS 385 the best I could, given my circumstances. I went to every lecture and tutorial, completed all assignments on time and studied hard for the in-class tests. I was actually fairly satisfied going into the final exam with a B-, as I felt this was a decent mark for a course I had zero interest in and very little proficiency for. What was particularly difficult for me was not the course itself, but the fact I didn't have my mom to call when I felt discouraged, which ended up being most of the time. This experience has, as a result, taught me to stand on my own two feet, and I feel that I have matured in a sense as I have learned to face things head on independently, which I am grateful for.
The final exam, however, did not go well for me. While I studied hard, I had multiple mental breakdowns over my fear of failure and went into the test in a very bad headspace. I am not someone who normally asks for people's pity, and I even feel a bit self-conscious to be requesting to appeal this grade, as it means I have had to accept defeat. The point I am trying to illustrate is that this course is not reflective of my abilities within the political studies program, and I was left to endure something that did not come at all naturally to me during a rather unfavourable period of my life. I have developed a greater sense of compassion for those who struggle with mental health issues, and I now realize that extenuating circumstances truly do exist. Having gone through this experience, I have a greater amount of respect for those who make it out of bed and give it their best despite what they are battling.
While I believe this course would be incredibly useful in the event that I chose to write a thesis in my fourth year of the program, I am opting to instead focus on the LSAT as well as boosting my overall GPA. Thus, this course had little application for my future in the political studies program, and I am left feeling slightly unsure why it is mandatory for those who are not planning on writing the thesis.
In light of all of this, I am asking for recognition of completion of this course, but to have the value of the grade removed from my official transcript and GPA (Appeal for Credit Standing). I take great comfort in the fact that the Queen's community even offers me the opportunity to appeal an academic grade, and I thank you in advance for your time and consideration regardless of your final decision.
Sincerely,
Laura Foran