Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: I am petitioning that the final grades from my courses be changed to dropped without consequence from Fall 2023 semester including POLS 243, POLS 211, PHIL 206 and Winter 2024 semester including ARTH 215, POLS 242, and EMPR 260.

Last academic year was extremely challenging from a mental health stand point. I have been struggling with my mental health starting in my second year of school and I was forced to drop my courses then and take the following year off from my studies to work on my mental health. During that time, I was tested for academic challenges and I was diagnosed with Attention Defecit Hyperactivity Disorder or ADHD. When I decided to return to my studies in the Fall 2023 semester I thought I was ready as I had taken time off which is what I thought I needed but was apparently wrong. I started that semester with a full course load and quickly had to drop 2 courses because of the work load and I felt as if I was slipping from being able to keep up with everything. I tried my best to attend classes and do work but I have lots of trouble with motivation to consistently do the most basic of tasks such as getting out of bed or going grocery shopping. I am on anti depressant mediation as well as ADHD medication and I thought that would be enough for my success but it did not work out as I had thought it would. My mental health quickly declined as the semester went on and I got to a point where I was at a very low point in my life. I reached out to my therapist and doctors and discussed further treatment and strategies to help me. After a few weeks of having to miss classes completely due to my extreme mental health decline, I had fallen too far behind to catch up. Unfortunetly, the deadline to drop classes had just passed and I did not know what to do because I had not been able to do anything including the necessities of my well being. I booked an appointment with a Queens psychologist to get an opinion and we agreed that the correct thing to do in my situation was for her to recommend that I drop my courses from that semester due to severe mental health medical reasons. I then contacted an academic advisor to find out how to drop my courses and I was informed to write this letter. I spent the remainder of my semester reaching out to multiple sources and gaining recommendations on how I could be successful in the future. Come winter semester I felt as if I could give it another try because I really wanted to be successful. I tried again by taking 3 courses and thought I could do it but I did not have enough time in between failure to make a significant enough change to ensure my success. I ended up falling into the same habits and ultimately being in a worse place from where I was first semester because of the constant struggle I was enduring. I really tried my best to change something but most days I found myself not being able to leave my bed because of the stress and anxiety of what was to come that day.

Although my academic difficulties are not resolved due to my mental health being extremely bad, I have consulted many sources and have started seeing an ADHD coach weekly to ensure my academic success for my future. As well, I have very frequent appointments with my general practitioner as well as a psychologist regarding my medication and I am going to be trying out a new medication that will hopefully improve my mental health state. As well, I frequently see a therapist and will continue to see him more frequently to ensure I have support. All these steps I am taking are to ensure my academic success because I want to overcome these challenges and I want to to successful in the future. Although my time at Queens might be coming to an end based on these factors, I still want to pursue and academic future. I had an extremely rough year last year and I have spent the past months working vigorously to better my mental health. This letter is submitted at this time because the advisor told me I had until December 31, 2024 to submit it and the past months I have spent trying to write this letter but not being able to because of how I felt about the whole situation. I wish I could go back and change things and try different things but unfortunately I am in a position where the best course of action for me is to take a step back as a whole and reevaluate my life plan. It took a long time but I have come to terms with my mental health status and the fact that this may impact my life but I am hoping that I can get the fails on my grade record revoked so I can pursue something academic in the future.

If documents are needed see my QSAS history and I can reach out to the ADHD coach I was speaking with and my general practitioner as well as therapist for letters regarding all of this.

Thanks,
Josh Taras
20226816