Petition Letter
Let me start from the beginning¿ since first year I have played for the women¿¿s soccer team here at Queen¿¿s; in the first three months of school I got a concussion at practice which ended up lasting 9 months. I had very little guidance from coaches, athletic staff, and academic staff on how to go about handling a concussion while also maintaining my academic success. It was not until second semester that I was told about accommodations, therefore I wrote my first semester exams during the worst period of my concussion. The only accommodation that I was offered in second semester was an extra 30 mins on my exams which did not help. From this 9-month concussion I developed anxiety, and suffered from migraines every day; evidently this made school extremely challenging. The main post concussion symptoms were difficulty with memory, difficulty concentrating, and difficulty focusing. In my second year, I got another concussion lasting 2-3 months from playing soccer at practice with the varsity team. My post-concussion symptoms amplified even more, making school that much more challenging. Ever since my two concussions, my post-concussion symptoms have not gotten better; I have suffered from difficulty concentration and focusing but the main struggle has been memory. In lectures and getting through readings it is not uncommon that I forget things that I have heard or read 2 mins prior to me trying to remember them.
Fast forward to this last semester of my undergrad¿ The class that I am appealing is PSYC 241 online. From the second I got back my first mark in the class and taking the midterm I knew that this class would not be easy for me. There was an abundance of information that we needed to know. I went and spoke to the professor early in the semester to discuss my condition with concussions; she had told me that she cannot help me unless I spoke with disability services. I booked an appointment with disability services, got documentation from my on-campus doctor through athletics stating my struggles with memory and concentration, and provided my MRI results. I made it very clear in my meeting that I do not want or need extra time on my exams because that is not the issue that I have. My issue is MEMORY; sitting in an exam for an extra 30 mins is not going to help or make me remember any of the information that I wasn¿¿t able to process. After making this clear, the advisor proceeded to tell me that he thinks extra time would be a good solution during exams. What everyone fails to understand time after time is that no matter how much extra I am given, I will not be able to remember the abundance of not only the class that I am appealing but every other class that I have at the same time. The second I was told the only accommodation available to me was extra time, I felt dismissed once again, no matter what I say, no one understands my difficulty with memory. Knowing that my final exam was worth 50 of my final mark I knew that there was a good chance that I would not succeed. No student should ever feel that way and that is the reality that we face. I studied my very best for the final exam; with 70 or more pages of notes, I studied with my two housemates that were also in the class, reviewed my notes over and over again and felt as prepared as I could have been going into the exam.
I have completed and received every credit for my French major and never failed a class. I took this online psychology course as an elective to broaden my course selection. I have done my very best in all 5 years of my undergrad, balancing a grueling varsity athletics routine and academics and anxiety, I have sought out treatment options the relive my post-concussion symptoms. I have seen neurosurgeons, I have had 2 MRI¿¿s done on my head and now need a new MRI scan every year to monitor white matter shown in my pervious scans. These three credits are standing in my way from graduating with my class. For 5 years I have been misunderstood by those who are meant to help and guide me to success, not once has anyone taken the time to understand my individual issues from concussion trauma. It is time that someone is on MY side because I cannot physically or mentally take going through anymore academics for a long time.
Please know that I have done everything in my ability to succeed.
Fast forward to this last semester of my undergrad¿ The class that I am appealing is PSYC 241 online. From the second I got back my first mark in the class and taking the midterm I knew that this class would not be easy for me. There was an abundance of information that we needed to know. I went and spoke to the professor early in the semester to discuss my condition with concussions; she had told me that she cannot help me unless I spoke with disability services. I booked an appointment with disability services, got documentation from my on-campus doctor through athletics stating my struggles with memory and concentration, and provided my MRI results. I made it very clear in my meeting that I do not want or need extra time on my exams because that is not the issue that I have. My issue is MEMORY; sitting in an exam for an extra 30 mins is not going to help or make me remember any of the information that I wasn¿¿t able to process. After making this clear, the advisor proceeded to tell me that he thinks extra time would be a good solution during exams. What everyone fails to understand time after time is that no matter how much extra I am given, I will not be able to remember the abundance of not only the class that I am appealing but every other class that I have at the same time. The second I was told the only accommodation available to me was extra time, I felt dismissed once again, no matter what I say, no one understands my difficulty with memory. Knowing that my final exam was worth 50 of my final mark I knew that there was a good chance that I would not succeed. No student should ever feel that way and that is the reality that we face. I studied my very best for the final exam; with 70 or more pages of notes, I studied with my two housemates that were also in the class, reviewed my notes over and over again and felt as prepared as I could have been going into the exam.
I have completed and received every credit for my French major and never failed a class. I took this online psychology course as an elective to broaden my course selection. I have done my very best in all 5 years of my undergrad, balancing a grueling varsity athletics routine and academics and anxiety, I have sought out treatment options the relive my post-concussion symptoms. I have seen neurosurgeons, I have had 2 MRI¿¿s done on my head and now need a new MRI scan every year to monitor white matter shown in my pervious scans. These three credits are standing in my way from graduating with my class. For 5 years I have been misunderstood by those who are meant to help and guide me to success, not once has anyone taken the time to understand my individual issues from concussion trauma. It is time that someone is on MY side because I cannot physically or mentally take going through anymore academics for a long time.
Please know that I have done everything in my ability to succeed.