Petition Letter
January 10th, 2019
Attn: Associate Dean (Studies)
I am writing to appeal my final grades for: BIOL 102 (Intro Biology of Cells), PSYC 100 (Principles of Psychology), and SOCY 122 (Introduction to Sociology). Although I passed these courses and want to keep the credits, these marks are making it very hard for me to find a Job with the Chemistry SWEP program which is something I am very interested in doing. I was recruited to Queen¿¿s to play Varsity football. I love it here and really want to stay in Kingston during the summer to train with the football team and work with one of my chemistry professors. If I can¿¿t find a good Job with the chemistry department, I may be forced to go back home and find a chemistry related job there. I also want these grades taken off of my transcript because I truly believe that they don¿¿t come close to representing my full potential as a student-athlete here at Queen¿¿s.
On January 2, 2018, I was diagnosed with ADHD by Dr. Sara King (Queen¿¿s Grad), at Erica Baker Psychological Services. I have shared this assessment with Queen¿¿s accessibility services and I believe they have it on file. In any case, I will also attach a copy with my appeal, and have also requested a letter or form from the doctor. Prior to my assessment and treatment, my condition was pretty severe (that¿¿s why I went to the doctor). I could only concentrate for about 5 minutes at a time. Obviously, this had a profound effect on my comprehension in lectures and performance in large, busy examination environments. I always did quite well in assignments throughout the year; I could do them in private with noise cancelling headphones to try to minimize as many distractions as possible. It was just really hard to concentrate with all of the other students and noise around in lectures and exams. I am now working with my accommodation¿¿s and have a far better handle on my medication. I am a lot more organized and I am finally studying something that I am genuinely interested in. Last semester, I achieved the highest grades I have ever received while here at Queen¿¿s and plan to do even better this semester.
There are two main reasons I did poorly in these four courses and better in the other two: First of all, I was just more interested in the two other courses I took - as I mentioned, I want to major in Chemistry. It¿¿s hard enough living with ADHD when I¿¿m interested in something, but virtually impossible when less so. Secondly, to get the news that I had an official mental condition was hard to take, it had a big impact on me while also trying to balance school and the extra demands as a Varsity athlete. And for about a year or so, I had to experiment with my prescribed drugs to find the right ones and dosages. I really didn¿¿t get it completely sorted out until the first semester of this year. I didn¿¿t drop the courses, because I wanted to work harder and do better, it was too late before I really realized I was in academic trouble, and I felt I needed the courses to major in Chemistry. I did pass them, although I am very unhappy with the marks I received and as I mentioned, the marks are making it very difficult for me to find a job in academia.
In terms of my future plans, I am going to continue to take my drugs as prescribed by my doctor, and follow the other recommendations by my psychologist which include:
¿¿ reduced course load and 5-year degree
¿¿ taking additional time for tests, exams and assignments
¿¿ taking exams in a quiet room with fewer students
¿¿ continue using my headphones where appropriate
¿¿ accessing and reviewing lectures on-line when available
¿¿ practice healthy diet and good sleep habits
Thank you for your careful consideration. I know I can do much better; just getting properly diagnosed and treated was at least half the battle, the rest is up to me now. My psychologist said that I am very bright and was actually very surprised I was even passing my courses at Queen¿¿s given the severity of my condition. This is under control now and I am ready to reach my full potential in the classrooms and on the field at Queen¿¿s. I just need a little help so I can major in what I am most interested in.
If there are any questions feel free to email me at 16mx6@queensu.ca, I would love to better explain in person or over the phone.
Truly,
Markadonis Xidos
20036497
Attn: Associate Dean (Studies)
I am writing to appeal my final grades for: BIOL 102 (Intro Biology of Cells), PSYC 100 (Principles of Psychology), and SOCY 122 (Introduction to Sociology). Although I passed these courses and want to keep the credits, these marks are making it very hard for me to find a Job with the Chemistry SWEP program which is something I am very interested in doing. I was recruited to Queen¿¿s to play Varsity football. I love it here and really want to stay in Kingston during the summer to train with the football team and work with one of my chemistry professors. If I can¿¿t find a good Job with the chemistry department, I may be forced to go back home and find a chemistry related job there. I also want these grades taken off of my transcript because I truly believe that they don¿¿t come close to representing my full potential as a student-athlete here at Queen¿¿s.
On January 2, 2018, I was diagnosed with ADHD by Dr. Sara King (Queen¿¿s Grad), at Erica Baker Psychological Services. I have shared this assessment with Queen¿¿s accessibility services and I believe they have it on file. In any case, I will also attach a copy with my appeal, and have also requested a letter or form from the doctor. Prior to my assessment and treatment, my condition was pretty severe (that¿¿s why I went to the doctor). I could only concentrate for about 5 minutes at a time. Obviously, this had a profound effect on my comprehension in lectures and performance in large, busy examination environments. I always did quite well in assignments throughout the year; I could do them in private with noise cancelling headphones to try to minimize as many distractions as possible. It was just really hard to concentrate with all of the other students and noise around in lectures and exams. I am now working with my accommodation¿¿s and have a far better handle on my medication. I am a lot more organized and I am finally studying something that I am genuinely interested in. Last semester, I achieved the highest grades I have ever received while here at Queen¿¿s and plan to do even better this semester.
There are two main reasons I did poorly in these four courses and better in the other two: First of all, I was just more interested in the two other courses I took - as I mentioned, I want to major in Chemistry. It¿¿s hard enough living with ADHD when I¿¿m interested in something, but virtually impossible when less so. Secondly, to get the news that I had an official mental condition was hard to take, it had a big impact on me while also trying to balance school and the extra demands as a Varsity athlete. And for about a year or so, I had to experiment with my prescribed drugs to find the right ones and dosages. I really didn¿¿t get it completely sorted out until the first semester of this year. I didn¿¿t drop the courses, because I wanted to work harder and do better, it was too late before I really realized I was in academic trouble, and I felt I needed the courses to major in Chemistry. I did pass them, although I am very unhappy with the marks I received and as I mentioned, the marks are making it very difficult for me to find a job in academia.
In terms of my future plans, I am going to continue to take my drugs as prescribed by my doctor, and follow the other recommendations by my psychologist which include:
¿¿ reduced course load and 5-year degree
¿¿ taking additional time for tests, exams and assignments
¿¿ taking exams in a quiet room with fewer students
¿¿ continue using my headphones where appropriate
¿¿ accessing and reviewing lectures on-line when available
¿¿ practice healthy diet and good sleep habits
Thank you for your careful consideration. I know I can do much better; just getting properly diagnosed and treated was at least half the battle, the rest is up to me now. My psychologist said that I am very bright and was actually very surprised I was even passing my courses at Queen¿¿s given the severity of my condition. This is under control now and I am ready to reach my full potential in the classrooms and on the field at Queen¿¿s. I just need a little help so I can major in what I am most interested in.
If there are any questions feel free to email me at 16mx6@queensu.ca, I would love to better explain in person or over the phone.
Truly,
Markadonis Xidos
20036497