Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: As a hard-working student who aims to succeed, and prides herself in her work, this year has been especially difficult for me due to unforeseen mental health matters. I was recently re-diagnosed with severe depression and put on a new health and medication treatment plan. With that being said, this semester specifically, I have struggled to find any sort of motivation when it comes to just about everything in my life. I have reached out to my QSAS advisor, Mary Buynak, We have discussed and agreed that dropping these courses is the right decision and course of action for me at this time.

I can see how my depression has had a major impact on my academics, and that is not the student nor the person I am. I am unsure how quickly my mental health will be in a state that will enable me to succeed the way I know I can. I have only started the medication and therapy treatment very recently, and I am aware of how long it can take to feel stable again. Additional unforeseen events have added to the depressive state and have only made the impact on my academics worse. This is not what I want for myself as a student of Queen??s University. I want to be able to retake these courses when my mental health is in a controlled place. Mary and I spoke and agreed that the best course for me right now is to focus on healing myself so that I can do my work and succeed to the best of my abilities in the ways I know I typically can and will. I was anxious about it being too late to drop these courses, but Mary explained to me it is not too late and that I am not alone.

To be able to drop these courses, focus on my mental health, and retake these courses at a later date, would be crucial for me right now. I understand the timing is not ideal, but I feel that it is better to gain control of my depression now so that I can succeed when retaking these courses (hopefully during the summer term and the next academic year). I would truly appreciate your support on this very difficult decision I am faced with. I did not want to have to do this at this point in the academic year, however, it is the best decision I have to make for myself. I want to ensure my academic success and I know that this is a pivotal part in doing so. I know that I can do better, I want to do better, and this will be extremely helpful for me in doing so. I can provide letters from both Mary Buynak and I can provide a letter from my doctor as well supporting these statements.

Thank you for your support and it is very appreciated.