Petition Letter
December 21, 2014
Dear Associate Dean (Studies), Dr. J. Hugh Horton,
I would like to request the waiving of the 21-day deadline as there were extenuating circumstances that prevented me from appealing within the deadline.
I am currently in my second year here at Queen's University, working on my Bachelor of
Science Honours degree. At the end of my first year I deferred four of my exams as I was diagnosed with clinical depression in April 2014. My plan was to write my exams by the end of the summer of 2014, however, I had had great difficulty coming to terms with my mental illness and was only able to write two of them. I've been doing everything in my power to recover, including medication, counselling and exercising, however it was to no avail, I still have difficulty focusing and actually remembering. Even still, the two exams I've managed to write were MATH121 in August 2014 and PHYS117 in September 2014. I was supposed to complete the remaining two exams in September as well but I didn't feel prepared to do so. I was overwhelmed with the amount of information I had to review and it became hard to concentrate on my readings and practicing for the examinations. I had new courses to focus on that made me feel like I didn't have the ability to do well on the exams I still had left to write. I have contacted my professors to see if it was possible to defer my exams to a later date, and they suggested I write them in January as that is the next time examinations will be happening. I was notified that a formal appeal to the Associate Dean (Studies) is needed to request an extension of the deadline to complete a deferred examination in a class. With my depression affecting how I handle new semester coursework and responsibilities, I became stressed and frequently felt like I had no chance in succeeding, physically, mentally and academically. My depression prevented me from applying myself to my utmost potential this past semester and once again made me lose my concentration no matter how hard I tried to study. Regular stress and constant fear of not doing well prevented me from appealing within the deadline as I was dealing with the consequences of depression. My instructors for the courses I have deferred my examinations in have agreed to the extension as they believe it will help me to succeed academically. I believe that granting my request to hear the appeal late will improve my academic standing and reduce the stress associated with the examinations, helping my recovery from clinical depression. I implore you to grant my appeal as I've finally started to take baby steps on the road back to recovery and I'm doing everything in my power to keep myself on track and remain positive throughout this entire situation. I greatly appreciate everything that's been done for me so far and for you taking time out of your day to hear me out.
Thank you very much.
With regards,
Yekaterina Kaplya
Dear Associate Dean (Studies), Dr. J. Hugh Horton,
I would like to request the waiving of the 21-day deadline as there were extenuating circumstances that prevented me from appealing within the deadline.
I am currently in my second year here at Queen's University, working on my Bachelor of
Science Honours degree. At the end of my first year I deferred four of my exams as I was diagnosed with clinical depression in April 2014. My plan was to write my exams by the end of the summer of 2014, however, I had had great difficulty coming to terms with my mental illness and was only able to write two of them. I've been doing everything in my power to recover, including medication, counselling and exercising, however it was to no avail, I still have difficulty focusing and actually remembering. Even still, the two exams I've managed to write were MATH121 in August 2014 and PHYS117 in September 2014. I was supposed to complete the remaining two exams in September as well but I didn't feel prepared to do so. I was overwhelmed with the amount of information I had to review and it became hard to concentrate on my readings and practicing for the examinations. I had new courses to focus on that made me feel like I didn't have the ability to do well on the exams I still had left to write. I have contacted my professors to see if it was possible to defer my exams to a later date, and they suggested I write them in January as that is the next time examinations will be happening. I was notified that a formal appeal to the Associate Dean (Studies) is needed to request an extension of the deadline to complete a deferred examination in a class. With my depression affecting how I handle new semester coursework and responsibilities, I became stressed and frequently felt like I had no chance in succeeding, physically, mentally and academically. My depression prevented me from applying myself to my utmost potential this past semester and once again made me lose my concentration no matter how hard I tried to study. Regular stress and constant fear of not doing well prevented me from appealing within the deadline as I was dealing with the consequences of depression. My instructors for the courses I have deferred my examinations in have agreed to the extension as they believe it will help me to succeed academically. I believe that granting my request to hear the appeal late will improve my academic standing and reduce the stress associated with the examinations, helping my recovery from clinical depression. I implore you to grant my appeal as I've finally started to take baby steps on the road back to recovery and I'm doing everything in my power to keep myself on track and remain positive throughout this entire situation. I greatly appreciate everything that's been done for me so far and for you taking time out of your day to hear me out.
Thank you very much.
With regards,
Yekaterina Kaplya