Petition Letter
Dr. Jill Atkinson
Associate Dean (Studies)
Queen¿¿s University Faculty of Arts and Science
December 21, 2017
Dear Madam,
I am appealing to request waiving the 21-day/one-term deadline for an academic appeal.
My reasoning for this request is based on the ongoing mental health challenges I faced during my first three years at Queen¿¿s, but how I have made different strides at getting better over the past year and half. As my full appeal will cover in detail: essentially, since the end of my first year, I have been struggling with sleep issues, anxiety, and extreme low mood, among other things. My mental health had made it unbelievably tough to get out of bed, attend class, engage in regular activities that I used to be passionate about, and socialize with friends.
Not thinking much of it, I started to see a Residence Outreach Counsellor during my second year, as recommended by my training as a Residence Don. For the next 16 months I saw the counsellor, and genuinely tried to make positive changes and improve my mental health. Overall though, I still did not realize how impactful my problems were and had not been referred elsewhere or gotten additional help. When my symptoms took a nose-dive, and worsened in third year, I strongly felt I needed more help; and sought the assistance of Student Wellness Services. There, a physician, a new counsellor, and a psychologist specializing in CBT (cognitive behavioural therapy) and sleep issues, began to help me get back on track. Over the summer of 2017, as I stayed in Kingston, I worked with all three of them to make changes for the better.
Ultimately, my request for waiving the one-term deadline to appeal stems from the fact that I would have appealed earlier, had I known I had a legitimate and documented case to do so. Since my initial counsellor in residence did not help that much, frankly, I felt that the situation was really just ¿in my head¿¿, and not overly serious. Yet upon receiving medication for anxiety and depression, and consulting with a new counsellor and a psychologist; Spring Forsberg, a wonderful academic advisor I have been seeing, suggested I appeal. Spring has been a cornerstone to my recovery as well, by helping me redesign and plan my academic goals and degree outline on a continual basis. She is fully aware of my entire situation, my work as a Residence Don, and has been a huge help, just like my physician, Dr. Nguyen, my counsellor, and the psychologist. Additionally, my supervisor in residence, my Residence Life Coordinator (Melyssa Kerr) is recently well-aware of my condition and is prepared to help when needed.
Thank you for taking the time to review my appeal to waive the deadline.
Sincerely,
Vrajesh Dave
Associate Dean (Studies)
Queen¿¿s University Faculty of Arts and Science
December 21, 2017
Dear Madam,
I am appealing to request waiving the 21-day/one-term deadline for an academic appeal.
My reasoning for this request is based on the ongoing mental health challenges I faced during my first three years at Queen¿¿s, but how I have made different strides at getting better over the past year and half. As my full appeal will cover in detail: essentially, since the end of my first year, I have been struggling with sleep issues, anxiety, and extreme low mood, among other things. My mental health had made it unbelievably tough to get out of bed, attend class, engage in regular activities that I used to be passionate about, and socialize with friends.
Not thinking much of it, I started to see a Residence Outreach Counsellor during my second year, as recommended by my training as a Residence Don. For the next 16 months I saw the counsellor, and genuinely tried to make positive changes and improve my mental health. Overall though, I still did not realize how impactful my problems were and had not been referred elsewhere or gotten additional help. When my symptoms took a nose-dive, and worsened in third year, I strongly felt I needed more help; and sought the assistance of Student Wellness Services. There, a physician, a new counsellor, and a psychologist specializing in CBT (cognitive behavioural therapy) and sleep issues, began to help me get back on track. Over the summer of 2017, as I stayed in Kingston, I worked with all three of them to make changes for the better.
Ultimately, my request for waiving the one-term deadline to appeal stems from the fact that I would have appealed earlier, had I known I had a legitimate and documented case to do so. Since my initial counsellor in residence did not help that much, frankly, I felt that the situation was really just ¿in my head¿¿, and not overly serious. Yet upon receiving medication for anxiety and depression, and consulting with a new counsellor and a psychologist; Spring Forsberg, a wonderful academic advisor I have been seeing, suggested I appeal. Spring has been a cornerstone to my recovery as well, by helping me redesign and plan my academic goals and degree outline on a continual basis. She is fully aware of my entire situation, my work as a Residence Don, and has been a huge help, just like my physician, Dr. Nguyen, my counsellor, and the psychologist. Additionally, my supervisor in residence, my Residence Life Coordinator (Melyssa Kerr) is recently well-aware of my condition and is prepared to help when needed.
Thank you for taking the time to review my appeal to waive the deadline.
Sincerely,
Vrajesh Dave