Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter:
To whom it may concern,
                  My name is Anaïs Wickramasinghe, and I am in my final stretch of my undergraduate degree in History (honours). I arrived at Queen's in Fall 2019, and since then, it has been a long journey, with incredible highs and impeccable lows. After COVID-19, a year of online school and the residual social and political effects it carried, I fell into a deep depression. I took a break from school and was fortunate enough to have the support of the institution in granting me petitions to drop past the deadline. A car accident threw me off path again, and I luckily found my way back to full-time studies in the fall of 2023 and winter 2024. Upon my return, I was still grappling with the residual effects of my health conditions, and my grades reflect that. I received high grades (two B+ and an A) in three of the courses in the fall, but with my struggle to balance the workload with my part-time job, I received a D-. The winter semester was challenging. Seasonal Affective Disorder was a new diagnosis when my depression took another surge, and I was struggling. I was taking two upper-year history seminars and had an additional course compared to the previous semester. I feel that it is integral to mention at this point that I had no financial assistance from OSAP or my parents, which is why I have worked at a hotel downtown to pay for myself, school and therapy for the last couple of years. My parents went through a messy divorce, leaving me more isolated than ever. I managed to do well in one seminar, receiving an A-, but this time was incredibly challenging. I was heavily unmotivated, and would come to class, specifically RELS 236, Religion and Sex, which I found fascinating. I had a great relationship with the professor who tried to help me as much as she could, yet I did not submit any work except the final. I was in a careless headspace, I had abandoned my dreams of law school, I was okay with failing out of school, and I continued to abuse my health. That F is striking compared to the following years' grades. 2024-2025 was my time of redemption. I did exceptionally well, receiving all A's and B's, and thought I would be able to avenge my old 3.7 GPA. I was able to bring it up a bit, but the F weighs me down, locking me at a 3.2. I was not a bad student; I was ill and unmotivated. At the end of the winter semester, the same feelings returned. This time, I was saddened because my lack of motivation did not feel genuine. I wanted to do my work, but a voice was holding me back.
In April, I sought out more professional medical help as I began to work on the petition to drop a course. As these feelings progressed, I became worried about my three summer school courses, which I am now completing. I was diagnosed with a few mental health conditions, and one that remains questioned is bipolar disorder. The medication I was put on, unfortunately, brought me back into a manic state. This explained the unmotivating feeling, the whiplash I would feel from caring so deeply about school to not at all. This summer has been incredibly challenging, yet I am most unsettled because I wanted to bring my GPA up during this time and submit my petition, yet I failed on both accounts. The fog is lifting from this episode, and I hope my medications balance out so I can attend law school and potentially return to Queens.
I will make an excellent lawyer, and if this affects my path, then so be it, but I am very determined. Dr. Pande is a history professor who encouraged me to pursue a master's here, working on historical medicine and Indigenous forms of healing. She said even without the Failing mark, I had a good chance of being admitted, but confessed that having it scrubbed would be ideal since it weighs down my average significantly. The people and ideas I've come across here have alchemized in ways that will leave me changed forever, and shall be evident in the work I do. I have a promising future, and Queen's has been a massive player and continues to support me in tremendous ways. My goal is to return here for a master's and/or Law school and properly implement the lessons I've learnt, and pursue my visions.