Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: To Whom It May Concern,

I would first like to begin by sincerely apologizing for any inconvenience I may have caused due to my poor performance throughout the year. I understand that Queen's is a world-renowned school and is home to students that are among the most academically accomplished in the world. I am fully aware that my performance throughout the 2016/2017 school year does not reflect the values, prestige, or reputation of Queen's University. With this in mind, I truly believe that I can recuperate from the hardships and challenges I faced this year and surpass the expectations set out by this academic institution in my upcoming years.

It is clear that the transition from secondary to post-secondary education is both difficult and demanding. However, the extenuating circumstances I faced throughout the year made my transition impossible. Prior to attending Queen's University, I was an enthusiastic student with a strong passion for learning. I was placed on honour roll throughout high school, and achieved an 88 average in my graduating year. I saw Queen's as an ideal opportunity to develop new relationships, become more independent, and continue learning at the highest level. However, this excitement was short-lived and seemingly impossible to re-establish after a tragic incident occurred in my life. One of my closest and dearest friends, Daniel DaCosta, committed suicide on September 3rd, 2016. Daniel and I were extremely close friends since the beginning of high school and he was truly a remarkable individual. Unfortunately, he suffered from severe depression which escalated quickly in the latter half of the summer. I was informed of his death on the same day I moved into residence, September 4th. As one can imagine, I was overwhelmed with emotions and was not able to fully comprehend what I was feeling on that day. The excitement of moving into my new home and starting my highly anticipated University career was quickly masked by immense grief and sadness, which created a very difficult situation for me to overcome. The reality of the situation was hard to comprehend, seeing as how one of my closest friends, whom I was speaking to and laughing with just a week before, killed himself the day before he would have started the same journey as me¿¿University. Due to the fact that Daniel and I were very close friends, I couldn¿¿t help but think that I was a large reason for his suicide. Following this incident, I developed severe anxiety issues and struggled to focus on school and my academics. In fact, my grades were just one of the many things that depleted throughout the year. I quickly became very vulnerable and secluded myself from other people as much as I could. Countless days were spent in my residence room in complete isolation, as I was struggling to deal with feelings and emotions that I¿¿ve never felt before. I made an attempt to talk to the student psychologist in Victoria Hall at the beginning of the year, but our relationship was very brief because I felt as though I could deal with these issues by myself. I was raised in an environment where I was always in the shadow of my two older brothers, both of which attend Queen¿¿s Medical School. Being that I am the youngest brother of the three, I was always seen to be the one who needed the most support and guidance, which were the exact things I wanted to find within myself during my time at University. I was under the impression that asking for help during this time, which I desperately needed, was a sign of a lack of independence and weakness. As a result, I carried on throughout the school year convincing myself that I would succeed and overcome the severe anxiety and stress that I wasn¿¿t able to comprehend at the time. Evidently, this was not the case. The number of assignments, quizzes, and tests became too much for me to handle, and for lack of a better term, I crashed. I wasn¿¿t able to figure out a solution to the way I was feeling, and I wasn¿¿t able to realize the severity of my situation until it was too late. Over the course of the year, I constantly felt as though I was far too behind in my studies to reach the grades that were deemed adequate to remain in school. This, in particular, was a direct result of my extremely poor performance during the first few months of the school year. I strongly believe that this feeling of hopelessness only added to the feelings of severe anxiety and stress that seemed to be controlling my ability to focus on school.

The main reason behind why I decided to appeal my ¿¿Required to Withdraw for One Year¿ status, and not just simply accept the fact that I may not be attending Queen's University in the upcoming school year, is because I truly believe in my capabilities as a student; to learn, teach, and inspire. I have come to terms with the tragic event that happened, and the frequent trips I made back home, in Mississauga, allowed me to spend time and heal with my close friends and family. I've grown to acknowledge the fact that having a strong support system, which will always provide guidance during the darkest of times, is the key to overcoming any adversity that arises in one's life. Much to my regret, I felt as though sacrificing my academic success throughout the entire school year was the only way I could focus on recuperating from this incident. For some, poor academic performance is attributed to by the immense work load, inability to manage time, or the level of difficulty of course material. Although these are all things that are inevitable when studying in University, I am certain that my poor performance was a direct result of emotional and psychological burdens that were impossible to overcome in my first year at Queen's. Once again, I would like to sincerely apologize for my unacceptable performance throughout the year, and would be extremely appreciative and thankful if I was given another chance to demonstrate why I deserve to be a student at Queen's University.


Regards,

Brian Kim