Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Dear Associate Dean,
I am writing to formally request a waiver of the one-year grade drop deadline for courses I had taken from fall semester 2022 through Winter semester 2023. This request is due to significant and extenuating personal circumstances stemming from my father's Alzheimer’s diagnosis and his subsequent passing in December of 2023. I am also respectfully petitioning for the opportunity to continue my studies at Queen’s University this upcoming fall semester.
When I first began my studies at Queen’s University in September of 2021 , I was already carrying the silent weight of a deteriorating home life. My father, a former crane operator, had been forced into early retirement by his work at Dwight Crane due to his superiors noticing cognitive decline, though this wasn’t disclosed to me until later on in my school year. At the end of my Grade 11 year, my father Hugh Campbell was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, a condition I didn’t fully understand at the time, but rather quickly became all too familiar with its impacts on every area of my life.
My first year began with both the challenges of transitioning to university during a global pandemic and my father’s rapidly declining condition creating an already drowning effect on my life. Returning home for winter break, I saw firsthand how much he had deteriorated in such a short period of time forgetting the names of relatives, everyday words, and eventually, even my own face. This heartbreaking decline from watching the man who raised me wither away triggered severe anxiety, panic attacks, and brain fog that made it incredibly difficult to keep up with my studies eventually leading to my almost complete isolation from all who had come to know me. I didn’t know how to navigate support systems, nor could I commit the strength of confronting the steps required to withdraw from courses while in such a state of emotional paralysis.
During this period, I developed disordered eating habits, withdrew socially, and began misusing substances as a coping mechanism, an aid in forgetting the turmoil of my now crumbling life. These behaviours persisted into the following year, driven by depression and trauma I hadn’t yet learned to manage causing myself to drift further away from my true nature. My responsibilities at home also increased. During the school year I had to make many trips back to Whitby to bring my father to his medical appointments, as my mother’s work schedule prevented her from doing so as the solo caretaker and family provider. The complex nature of my family's situation, paired with my mental health struggles, led to my complete and total academic disengagement and my complete removal from the life I had built at Queen’s.
In Summer 2023, I was informed by the school that I would not be able to return to Queens for the duration of a year due to poor academic standing. This devastating news only deepened my sense of loss and failure, contributing to my mental and physical decline disallowing me to seek out help in my return to school. Then, on December 19, 2023, my father, Hugh Campbell, disoriented during one of his walks wandered onto train tracks near my home leading to him being struck and killed by a Canadian National train, the moment forever ingrained into my mind. For months, I was unable to get out of bed or envision any future for myself as I saw my family and world around me turn to dust.
But over time, the dust began to settle and I began feeling my father usher the desire to be alive back to me. Through therapy and personal determination, I began a slow but committed healing process. I focused on rebuilding my mental and physical health, eating regularly, reducing my pattern of harmful behaviours, and facing my trauma head on. I knew that in order to honour my father and everything we endured, I had to begin rebuilding my life.
Since returning to Queen’s in Fall 2024, I have taken every opportunity to do just that. My academic performance has improved significantly. I’ve engaged fully in campus life, joining Queen’s Model Parliament, playing intramural water polo, frequenting the ARC gym, and maintaining a balanced, healthy routine. The change I have put forth is proven by attending nearly all of my classes and focusing on my studies solely at the library to obtain a good GPA and to remain motivated by my peers. These are not superficial changes but a reflection of the ongoing transformation of myself.
I am now more passionate and focused than ever on completing my degree in History, with the goal of becoming a teacher. I’ve maintained a good GPA while completing a full course load over the two semesters. I’m also taking active steps to support and maintain my recovery, including follow-up appointments with my family doctor to aid in my support system.
To support this petition, I am in the process of obtaining documentation, including medical records detailing my father's diagnosis and cognitive decline, as well as his attached death certificate. These documents will confirm the severity and timeline of the extenuating circumstances giving reason for my academic shortcomings.
Queens has become much more than a place to obtain an education. It represents a rebirth of self, a place I can grow into the person I know I can become. I respectfully ask for the opportunity to demonstrate that I am no longer defined by the lowest point in my life, but by the resilience and commitment I’ve shown in rising from it.
Thank you for considering my petition. I am eager to continue proving the kind of student, and person, I have become.
Sincerely,
Connor William Hugh Campbell
20273242
Arts and Science
20cwc2@queensu.ca
905-242-2668