Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Hello, My name is Owen Cockerham. I am a current first year general arts Student at Queens. Throughout this year I was faced with a variety of personal problems, both mental and physical. During the fall semester I was dealing with some very serious mental health problems and was in a very extended process of receiving a diagnosis for clinical depression and suicidal ideation, along with this I was also in the process of receiving medication and an additional ADHD diagnosis (which I am still in the process of receiving). Along with this I also faced various medical problems such as severing a tendon in my dominant hand during the fall semester. This not only made it hard for me to complete my work during the semester but also had a very heavy impact on my mental health. These factors would continue to impact me throughout both the fall and winter semesters which had a significant impact in my academic performance. Recently I have received an updated prescription and have begun therapy again. Thankfully my mental and physical state have begun to improve. If given a second opportunity I would attempt to make various improvements to my both my organizational and academic practices. I believe that by taking a reduced course load and properly regulating myself, along with keeping up with both my medication and consistent therapy I will be able to improve my academic performance to level that Queens has come to expect. I am also exploring possible transfer opportunities for the winter semester, which is the reason for the request to have courses dropped form my transcript. I think that transferring to an academic institution that is located closer to me could be a great help in my academic future along with the other factors listed above. I truly believe that this year has not been representative of my academic potential and I hope for a second chance.
thank you for your consideration.