Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: My name is Kayla Justinich and I am a student enrolled in the BaH program with a major in Gender Studies. I am writing this letter in order to gain approval to drop 2 failed courses from the fall semester of 2013 and 6 failed courses from the winter semester of 2014. I am also hoping to gain approval to take 4 courses over the summer through Athabasca University (a total of 12 credits) so that I will be able to graduate after this coming fall semester.

Over the past year, for the first time in my life, I have struggled with serious depression and anxiety, which has unfortunately resulted in my inability to complete my degree, or even to face the issues that I have been dealing with. For over 8 months I was unable to speak with anyone about these problems, and instead became completely shut down and hopeless. To be completely honest I truly did not think I would still be alive today.

The most major impact of this struggle has been on my academic career. I was unable to return to Kingston, and instead chose to complete my last year of studies through distance education. School, however, became a constant source of anxiety in terms of being evaluated, and I found that I was unable to bring myself to complete and/or submit any work at all for my final 8 courses. My depression severely affected my motivation to complete my course work, as well as my ability to see clearly the options that I had in terms of finding a solution at an earlier time. The ways in which my illness has affected my academic life has been a source of constant and overwhelming stress in my life, and I still struggle to come to terms with the extent to which I have allowed my academic career to suffer.

Over the past few months I have been seeing a psychological counselor who has helped me immensely in terms of being able to face things in my life, with the focus being working up to this appeal. Working with her has allowed me to see that I can have a future, and that this illness is not who I am but rather a temporary obstacle that I am capable of overcoming. For the first time in many months I am able to look to the future with excitement and determination, which to me is a huge success regardless of the outcome of this appeal.

THrough the continuous help and support of my family and counselor I once again feel capable of completing my degree and pursuing further education, and am looking forward to my future.