Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: To the Associate Dean (Studies),

My name is Kathy Sihavong (10019991) and I am appealing the Faculty's decision to withdraw from my studies at Queen's for one year. I believe that my anxiety has significantly affected my academic performance. This summer I have been working on understanding how to reduce and prevent the restricting effects of my anxiety. In addition to working on my mental health, I have come up with an academic plan to ensure that my year back will be successful academically and mentally.
During second semester this school year I began to notice a drastic change in the way stress had begun to affect me. I found that after classes I would go home and isolate myself from my housemates. Activities such as going to the gym and calling my parents-which I usually loved, became more difficult to do. I began to get tried easily but woke up continuously during my sleep. Although I attended class, did well on assignments, and kept up with school work, I found myself blanking out and panicking when it came down to writing examinations. Not understanding why this was happening I began to further emotionally remove myself from my normal routine and those around me. Although I genuinely enjoyed my courses, it was becoming difficult to convince myself that I was even capable of doing well. During examinations my thoughts would be so overwhelming that I would completely mentally check out. Realizing that my academic performance was being jeopardized I emailed the Arts and Science office on February 20th, 2014 about my marks. On March 3rd,2014, I had an academic advising appointment and spoke to Haley Everson about my performance and what my options were in terms of help. She recommended that I speak to HCDS and attend a workshop on managing stress and anxiety. I attended the workshop on March 5th, 2014 and came out with new tips. On March 14th , 2014, I had an appointment with Jen from HCDS and we discussed how to cope and understand my anxiety. She recommended breathing exercises and a book on mindfulness by Jon Kabbat-Zinn. I began practicing these new techniques and I did notice some change in energy level and a reduction in how much I isolated myself from my peers. Although my symptoms did not completely disappear, I did notice some improvement on how I felt while inside exam rooms. On June 10th I spoke to Cathy Touzel from HCDS and discussed my mental health and what else I should work on. Throughout the summer I have been working on understanding my anxiety and how to deal with its effects. In particularly, I have been practicing mindfulness and meditation techniques to learn how to manage stress and cope with sudden changes. My parents have been an amazing support as they have been guiding me through my practice and continually checking in on my progress. I understand and am prepared to continue to work on myself this summer and throughout the school year in order to get back on track.