Petition Letter
Hello,
My name is Marcus Mila, I am appealing my past 2 academic years at Queens. In that time, I haven??t earned any credits. However, I would like to have those years wiped from my record so that I can have a second chance at an academic career. This time moving forward, I want to study computer science with a major in Game Development, and I want to do an exchange program with a Japanese university in my second year.
The reason I struggled in the past two years was because it wasn??t possible to work without motivation. The quarantine made it hard for me as a person with high-functioning Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) to make friends, engage with the university, and stay motivated. Making friends is already difficult with ASD, so coming to the school on my own in the first year of the quarantine, it was impossible to meet people. No one was there to invite me to play sports, and I couldn??t invite anyone to study with me. My dorm group was small, and it was expected that you socially distance. Everything else was online, and university felt a lot less fun than people said it would be. I was advised by my Don to just go up to people, but I had social anxiety at that point, so it felt impossible. I eventually found myself holed up in my dorm room alone day after day, and once I stopped trying to meet people, I stopped working and spiralled into depression and distraction. After a few months in my first year, I had lost motivation, and couldn??t work anymore.
Hoping 2nd year would be different, I looked forward to the in-person lectures, however, it turns out they were ??supporting information? and the main lecture was online in video form. I tried making friends in class, but I never met anybody who really stuck. In my second month during the program, I was faced with a dilemma. I had to get vaccinated or lose my in-person courses. I was afraid of the vaccines because I??d heard they can cause myocarditis within my age group. I refused to take the vaccine until the due date, when all my in-person courses were removed from OnQ. It was especially detrimental because during that time some of my courses had mid-terms. I was desperate to meet fellow students and outraged that all my work had been taken away. I had no choice but to get vaccinated. However, it took time to get the shot and work with the school to get my courses back, and roughly 2 weeks passed until I was allowed to use my courses again. I was 2 weeks of missed homework, assignments, and midterms behind, and already not particularly happy with the whole process; I gave up. With low morale, I didn??t sign up for any courses come second semester.
So, why should I be given a second chance? This year, with the quarantine practically ended, I want to do things differently. I have plans to join the outdoors club, the equestrian club, and the anime club. These are activities I??m really interested in, and they??ll also be great opportunities to make friends with like-minded students. This year I want to study something I??ve always loved: computers and video games. I??ve played video games for as long as I remember, and I think studying video games is a great way to stay interested in my major, as well as teaching me valuable coding skills which can be applied in any other job sector. There are also a couple of interesting course electives I??ve decided I want to take: Japanese 101 and Geology 104. Japanese, so I??ll know the language when I exchange in my 2nd year, and Geology because I love hikes and nature. I??ve also been worrying that I might have forgotten how to study, so I??m attending lessons with SASS to re-learn academic skills, and warm-up before the school year begins.
I hope you??ll consider my Academic Appeal I had a hard time with the quarantine, but the clouds have parted and I??m determined now more than ever to prove to myself that I can complete my degree. Please give me this opportunity because I won??t waste it
My name is Marcus Mila, I am appealing my past 2 academic years at Queens. In that time, I haven??t earned any credits. However, I would like to have those years wiped from my record so that I can have a second chance at an academic career. This time moving forward, I want to study computer science with a major in Game Development, and I want to do an exchange program with a Japanese university in my second year.
The reason I struggled in the past two years was because it wasn??t possible to work without motivation. The quarantine made it hard for me as a person with high-functioning Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) to make friends, engage with the university, and stay motivated. Making friends is already difficult with ASD, so coming to the school on my own in the first year of the quarantine, it was impossible to meet people. No one was there to invite me to play sports, and I couldn??t invite anyone to study with me. My dorm group was small, and it was expected that you socially distance. Everything else was online, and university felt a lot less fun than people said it would be. I was advised by my Don to just go up to people, but I had social anxiety at that point, so it felt impossible. I eventually found myself holed up in my dorm room alone day after day, and once I stopped trying to meet people, I stopped working and spiralled into depression and distraction. After a few months in my first year, I had lost motivation, and couldn??t work anymore.
Hoping 2nd year would be different, I looked forward to the in-person lectures, however, it turns out they were ??supporting information? and the main lecture was online in video form. I tried making friends in class, but I never met anybody who really stuck. In my second month during the program, I was faced with a dilemma. I had to get vaccinated or lose my in-person courses. I was afraid of the vaccines because I??d heard they can cause myocarditis within my age group. I refused to take the vaccine until the due date, when all my in-person courses were removed from OnQ. It was especially detrimental because during that time some of my courses had mid-terms. I was desperate to meet fellow students and outraged that all my work had been taken away. I had no choice but to get vaccinated. However, it took time to get the shot and work with the school to get my courses back, and roughly 2 weeks passed until I was allowed to use my courses again. I was 2 weeks of missed homework, assignments, and midterms behind, and already not particularly happy with the whole process; I gave up. With low morale, I didn??t sign up for any courses come second semester.
So, why should I be given a second chance? This year, with the quarantine practically ended, I want to do things differently. I have plans to join the outdoors club, the equestrian club, and the anime club. These are activities I??m really interested in, and they??ll also be great opportunities to make friends with like-minded students. This year I want to study something I??ve always loved: computers and video games. I??ve played video games for as long as I remember, and I think studying video games is a great way to stay interested in my major, as well as teaching me valuable coding skills which can be applied in any other job sector. There are also a couple of interesting course electives I??ve decided I want to take: Japanese 101 and Geology 104. Japanese, so I??ll know the language when I exchange in my 2nd year, and Geology because I love hikes and nature. I??ve also been worrying that I might have forgotten how to study, so I??m attending lessons with SASS to re-learn academic skills, and warm-up before the school year begins.
I hope you??ll consider my Academic Appeal I had a hard time with the quarantine, but the clouds have parted and I??m determined now more than ever to prove to myself that I can complete my degree. Please give me this opportunity because I won??t waste it