Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Claire Dufresne
6943 Livingstone Dr. S.W.
Calgary, Alberta, T3E 6J6
Cell: 403 850 2118

July 26, 2016

CONFIDENTIAL ¿¿ FOR PURPOSES OF APPEAL ONLY

Associate Dean (Studies)
Faculty of Arts & Science
Queen¿¿s University
Kingston, Ontario

Dear Sir or Madam,

I am appealing to drop the course PHYS 239 (Winter 2016) without academic penalty. The purpose of this letter is to outline the extenuating circumstances which prevented me from dropping the course prior to the academic deadline.

Since November 2015, I have been struggling with mental health problems, which have only recently been diagnosed as major clinical depression and anxiety. The diagnosis was made in June, and was followed by the realization of the impact that it has had on my academics in the past year.

Adjusting from first year general science to second year in physics was very difficult for me. I could not keep up with the requirements of a full math and physics course load, and I quickly became behind in everything. The stress took an immense toll on my mental health, resulting in decreased interest in social and extracurricular engagements, a lack of motivation to complete assignments and learn the material for my courses, and overall anxiety regarding anything academic. These changes worsened as the months went by, but I still did not recognize that I was ill. As someone who has always been very motivated to learn and master whatever I was challenged with, I never expected to be faced with mental illness, which seemed to completely hinder my ability to be myself.

This summer has been odd and challenging, as I am seeing doctors and learning more about the condition that I lived with for many months without even knowing. Although my depression and anxiety has affected all areas of my life, I believe that my academics suffered the most. Especially surrounding exam time, stress and procrastination, due to my condition, prevented me from fully learning the required material in PHYS 239. As a result of this, I ended up failing the final exam, and thus, the course.

Medication and counselling has helped me immensely, and it is amazing to return to feeling like myself again, doing and feeling things I didn¿¿t realize I hadn¿¿t in nearly a year. I am confident that come September, I will return to Queen¿¿s healthy and energized to be successful in my academics again, with a few changes made. To ensure my continued achievement, I will continue my medication and I will begin seeing a counselor in Kingston. A decreased course load in the upcoming year should also make academic pressure more manageable. Tips I have learned from my counselling, I expect will help me cope with the regular stresses of post-secondary education, and of dealing with mental health problems, as well as how to recognize symptoms early, if they do recur.

I am eager to repeat PHYS 239 in the upcoming winter semester, and with the above changes made, it will surely be feasible and rewarding. I hope to have this appeal granted so I can continue on with my studies and focus on future endeavors, without the added difficulty of the mark this difficult time has left on my record.

Attached are notes from my Doctor and Counselor from a previous appeal, which was granted. These notes request for a different course to be dropped, but the same circumstances still apply to this appeal, and I hope they will aid in the decision of the Associate Dean (Studies).

Please do not hesitate to contact me with any questions.

Sincerely,

Claire Dufresne
10138132
13cd48@queensu.ca
403 850 2118