Petition Letter
Respected Sirs,
My name is Akriti Shrivastava, student number 20130144, and I am writing to request to waive the requirement for me to withdraw for one year and request a late drop for my courses. I am experiencing extenuating circumstances that impact my academic performance and ability to excel at Queens. Below, I have provided an approximate timeline for these events to understand their impact on me and my education. I have also described my plan to better my situation.
My struggle began in the winter 2019 semester; I struggled with severe confidence issues; at the time, I attributed this to weight gain and loss of body confidence. My solution was to work with a trainer at a gym that summer, and I came back to the fall 2019 semester with what I thought was better health. Once back, however, this quickly changed. I struggled with poor eating and exercise habits again, frequently lacked energy, and would tire from climbing one flight of stairs. I began to isolate myself, struggled with extreme paranoia, and had severe insomnia, where I often would find myself going to bed once my housemates were up. I lacked energy, focus and drive, so I began to neglect my coursework and would scramble to work in bouts of anxiety. Even when I knew the content, the combination of sleep deprivation and low self-confidence had me second guess myself frequently.
I struggled to manage even two courses during this time, which further impacted my self-esteem. I battled serious intrusive thoughts and wanted to drop out of university. I felt lost and was so stressed and confused that I started losing hair as a physical response. A concerned friend brought me to student wellness and the academic guidance office, where a professional finally diagnosed me with Anaemia and Major Depressive Disorder.
I was prescribed medication to help stabilise my mood and given iron to help with the anaemia. I also began seeing an Occupational therapist, who helped structure my routine and worked with an academic advisor, who advised me to reduce my course load and shadow a plan. I retook some classes to help boost my GPA but struggled with them again.
That year, due to the pandemic, I had to return to my home country and was isolated from my support resources and unable to refill my prescription, which caused my depression to relapse.
I have since been working very hard to already meet my academic plan, and have increased my therapy sessions as well as met with academic advisors. This is further explained below.
My name is Akriti Shrivastava, student number 20130144, and I am writing to request to waive the requirement for me to withdraw for one year and request a late drop for my courses. I am experiencing extenuating circumstances that impact my academic performance and ability to excel at Queens. Below, I have provided an approximate timeline for these events to understand their impact on me and my education. I have also described my plan to better my situation.
My struggle began in the winter 2019 semester; I struggled with severe confidence issues; at the time, I attributed this to weight gain and loss of body confidence. My solution was to work with a trainer at a gym that summer, and I came back to the fall 2019 semester with what I thought was better health. Once back, however, this quickly changed. I struggled with poor eating and exercise habits again, frequently lacked energy, and would tire from climbing one flight of stairs. I began to isolate myself, struggled with extreme paranoia, and had severe insomnia, where I often would find myself going to bed once my housemates were up. I lacked energy, focus and drive, so I began to neglect my coursework and would scramble to work in bouts of anxiety. Even when I knew the content, the combination of sleep deprivation and low self-confidence had me second guess myself frequently.
I struggled to manage even two courses during this time, which further impacted my self-esteem. I battled serious intrusive thoughts and wanted to drop out of university. I felt lost and was so stressed and confused that I started losing hair as a physical response. A concerned friend brought me to student wellness and the academic guidance office, where a professional finally diagnosed me with Anaemia and Major Depressive Disorder.
I was prescribed medication to help stabilise my mood and given iron to help with the anaemia. I also began seeing an Occupational therapist, who helped structure my routine and worked with an academic advisor, who advised me to reduce my course load and shadow a plan. I retook some classes to help boost my GPA but struggled with them again.
That year, due to the pandemic, I had to return to my home country and was isolated from my support resources and unable to refill my prescription, which caused my depression to relapse.
I have since been working very hard to already meet my academic plan, and have increased my therapy sessions as well as met with academic advisors. This is further explained below.