Petition Letter
Dear Associate Dean (Studies),
This letter is to request the late drop of three failed courses be considered after the 21-day deadline due to extenuating circumstances. I was unaware that you were able to appeal your fails until meeting with an academic advisor on Monday, September 22, 2014. The courses are: 1st semester cognitive science; COGS 100 (Fall, 2013), 2nd semester geography; GPHY 102 (Winter, 2014), and 2nd semester geology; GEOL 106 (Winter, 2014).
First year was an extremely difficult transition for me. I was very uncomfortable leaving my family. They had been my support system throughout my high school years. For the majority of my high school career I suffered from bulimia. This disease manifested my life. While struggling with this eating disorder I was diagnosed with depression and anxiety as well as discovering I had ADD.
Everyone seemed very sure that I was over the past and would be able to take care of myself at Queens. I came into university very unsure what I wanted to do with my life. I discovered that while I was trying to cover everything up I was actually becoming more anxious and had to consider that maybe I wasn¿¿t fully over my past and that perhaps I wasn¿¿t ready to take care of myself on my own without my support system back at home.
As school began, I felt myself slipping in and out of depression and I was experiencing anxiety due to the change of pace and routine. I didn¿¿t inform anyone of this because I thought it was a normal part of the transitional stage. I was also experiencing anxiety because I was having a difficult time registering with Disability Services. It took over 2 months for me to become fully registered in the program and I was unable to use my accommodations for my first mid-term, which I ended up failing.
Early November everything spiralled out of control. I was informed that my 20-year-old brother would be coming home from university and checking into a rehabilitation center for alcoholism and substance abuse. All my anxieties and stresses that I thought I had left behind came back and started to have a negative effect.
The pressure to be the perfect kid for my family was overwhelming and I couldn¿¿t stop thinking about it. I was suffering from severe anxiety and there were days when I couldn¿¿t get myself out of bed because I did not have the energy to.
During the exam period, I could not stay focused and I tried to hide how much I was really hurting by not reaching out and telling anyone. I felt lucky that considering the circumstances, that passed any of my courses. I was both physically and mentally exhausted as I was unable to sleep due to my anxieties. I was short of breath and tight in my chest everyday and ultimately I ended the year with an extremely low GPA, failing three of my courses, which resulted in my being placed on academic probation.
In order to address my medical issues, over the summer I saw a psychiatrist and was prescribed anxiety medications. I continued to meet with my doctor and I was open with my family and have been able to manage my anxiety. I also attended workshops over the summer that teaches holistic methods to cope with anxiety. I have been into counselling services here at Queen¿¿s and Marlo Gillis has provided a letter of documenting the setbacks and issues that I faced last year and how they have impacted my academic performance.
I have visited the counselling services center and I am now aware of the many resources Queens has to offer and I am taking advantage of these resources. I have registered with Disability Services Office and I have been attending the workshops and using the adaptive technology center. I am also working with the peer mentoring service and have lessened my academic load by only taking four courses per semester. I want to do well and be successful. I recognize that I should have sought help sooner in my first year, but I am working hard to right my wrongs and fix my mistakes. I am in a healthy state of mind and am taking courses I enjoy and really want to start with a clean slate and do well.
As well I have provided a letter of documentation from Marlo Gillis, who has requested that she sends you over my Doctors note from her personally. Thank you for considering this appeal.
Sincerely,
Mairead Mulroy
This letter is to request the late drop of three failed courses be considered after the 21-day deadline due to extenuating circumstances. I was unaware that you were able to appeal your fails until meeting with an academic advisor on Monday, September 22, 2014. The courses are: 1st semester cognitive science; COGS 100 (Fall, 2013), 2nd semester geography; GPHY 102 (Winter, 2014), and 2nd semester geology; GEOL 106 (Winter, 2014).
First year was an extremely difficult transition for me. I was very uncomfortable leaving my family. They had been my support system throughout my high school years. For the majority of my high school career I suffered from bulimia. This disease manifested my life. While struggling with this eating disorder I was diagnosed with depression and anxiety as well as discovering I had ADD.
Everyone seemed very sure that I was over the past and would be able to take care of myself at Queens. I came into university very unsure what I wanted to do with my life. I discovered that while I was trying to cover everything up I was actually becoming more anxious and had to consider that maybe I wasn¿¿t fully over my past and that perhaps I wasn¿¿t ready to take care of myself on my own without my support system back at home.
As school began, I felt myself slipping in and out of depression and I was experiencing anxiety due to the change of pace and routine. I didn¿¿t inform anyone of this because I thought it was a normal part of the transitional stage. I was also experiencing anxiety because I was having a difficult time registering with Disability Services. It took over 2 months for me to become fully registered in the program and I was unable to use my accommodations for my first mid-term, which I ended up failing.
Early November everything spiralled out of control. I was informed that my 20-year-old brother would be coming home from university and checking into a rehabilitation center for alcoholism and substance abuse. All my anxieties and stresses that I thought I had left behind came back and started to have a negative effect.
The pressure to be the perfect kid for my family was overwhelming and I couldn¿¿t stop thinking about it. I was suffering from severe anxiety and there were days when I couldn¿¿t get myself out of bed because I did not have the energy to.
During the exam period, I could not stay focused and I tried to hide how much I was really hurting by not reaching out and telling anyone. I felt lucky that considering the circumstances, that passed any of my courses. I was both physically and mentally exhausted as I was unable to sleep due to my anxieties. I was short of breath and tight in my chest everyday and ultimately I ended the year with an extremely low GPA, failing three of my courses, which resulted in my being placed on academic probation.
In order to address my medical issues, over the summer I saw a psychiatrist and was prescribed anxiety medications. I continued to meet with my doctor and I was open with my family and have been able to manage my anxiety. I also attended workshops over the summer that teaches holistic methods to cope with anxiety. I have been into counselling services here at Queen¿¿s and Marlo Gillis has provided a letter of documenting the setbacks and issues that I faced last year and how they have impacted my academic performance.
I have visited the counselling services center and I am now aware of the many resources Queens has to offer and I am taking advantage of these resources. I have registered with Disability Services Office and I have been attending the workshops and using the adaptive technology center. I am also working with the peer mentoring service and have lessened my academic load by only taking four courses per semester. I want to do well and be successful. I recognize that I should have sought help sooner in my first year, but I am working hard to right my wrongs and fix my mistakes. I am in a healthy state of mind and am taking courses I enjoy and really want to start with a clean slate and do well.
As well I have provided a letter of documentation from Marlo Gillis, who has requested that she sends you over my Doctors note from her personally. Thank you for considering this appeal.
Sincerely,
Mairead Mulroy