Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: My name is Laura Martelo, (Student 10067289) the purpose of this request is due to the fact that I was denied my appeal to drop BCHM 102, STAT 263 (Fall/Winter), BIOL 202, PHGY 214B and PSYC 251 and was asked to withdrawal from Queen¿¿s for a year due to my academics. However, I would like to appeal the decision of the Associate Dean.
The previous academic year was a really tough year in my life where I was diagnosed with severe depression by the doctor in HCDS. It all started in September when I was not in a balanced emotional state that was due to family, relation and financial problems that led me to my break down in all aspects in my life. I considered myself a very quiet person when it comes to my emotions, no one really knew what was actually happening in my life especially my mother and family. I was not attending classes, missing tests and assignments and even handing work in late leading me to perform academically poor due to my personal issues. I started seeing my counselor Layla at the HCDS once a week until Christmas break came around and I went home (Mississauga) but it did not make me feel better. I was mostly in bed feeling sick all winter break and did not go to work. When I came back from the Christmas break I knew I had to bring my grades up and be better for myself and my family while continuing to go to my weekly meetings as support. However, Layla had left since she finished her placement. I was a very skeptical and was not comfortable in sharing my story and opening up to someone else about my issues. I finally then decided to give it a try to a new counselor but then I got bad news about my grandmother being in a life threatening condition and that she was running out of time. My family and I flew to Colombia for three weeks, it was a tough time for me and my family. I was not focused in doing my school work due to the surrounding events happening throughout the whole trip. I was able to have an extension for some of my classes but for others I was still handing things in while still in Colombia (online courses) but again, I did not do as well due to the circumstances I was going through. When I came back from Colombia, I was caught up with a lot of school work including essays, assignments and midterms that it was so overwhelming. I did not feel ready to go back to HCDS and tell my story all over again to someone else I did not know so I did not go back to counselling. Trying to hold myself together I went through exams, was not concentrated enough after my trip to Colombia and the outcome was not good hence the reason why this letter is being written. Last year was a tough year for me but I am now in a place where I know what I am here to do and I want to be better and make up for my fails.