Manage Appeals
Petition Type: New
ID: 3615
Submitted: June 13, 2017 at 8:17:29 PM
First Name: Michelle
Last Name: Le
Student Number: 10177521
Email: 14ml84@queensu.ca
Degree Program: BA
Plan: Geography
Level of Study: 2
Petition Categories
Petition Categories: Waive the requirement to withdraw for one year
Petition Letter
Petition Letter: Dear Associate Dean Studies,
I am appealing the faculty¿¿s decision that I must withdraw from Queen¿¿s for a year. My reason for appealing the decision is because of extenuating circumstances that have prevented me from performing well to get released from academic probation.
This past year has been a difficult one as I was diagnosed with PFS (Patello-Femoral Syndrome) in both knees. In the summer, the patella in my right knee became locked out of its place and I was rushed to the emergency rom. I was then referred to a knee specialist in Ottawa to do an MRI and x-ray which later diagnosed me with PFS in both of my knees. To get my knee strength back and rehabilitate my knee after the trauma, I was admitted into a physiotherapy program in Ottawa. During the month of September, I would travel back and forth from Kingston to Ottawa once every 2 or 3 weeks to continue my program. On certain dates, I was not able to get an appointment until Monday as my physiotherapist did not work on Fridays. Due to this, I would not make it back in time for certain lectures specifically the POLS250 and MATH126 lectures in which I received very low grades in. The travel and the rehabilitation of my knee contributed and affected my academic performance as I was unable to focus due to knee pain and discomfort as well as keeping up with my rehab program outside of the sessions. I had to adjust the way I do basic everyday functions because of my knee and the risk of my patella shifting out of its place again. By the time midterms came around, I had missed quite a bit of class and was not prepared to write the midterms resulting in a failure in POLS280, POLS250, and MATH126 midterms as well as handing in the final essay for POLS280 significiantly late.
During winter break, I had found out that my dad had suddenly left the house with little explanation or warning, he then demanded a separation and furthermore a divorce. During the winter semester, I was in a stage of sudden shock and was psychologically challenged to focus on my academics as I felt guilty that my mom and sister were home in Ottawa dealing with everything themselves. Following reading week, winter midterms approached and after being at home during reading week and witnessing my dad¿¿s absence and the way he treated us, I was unable to get any work done and was disheartened. Because of this, I failed the POLS250 and ECON212 midterm drastically making it almost impossible for me to bring up my marks after that. In the middle of January, I did meet with an academic advisor to seek advice and discuss my academic plan and courses I was concerned with. Unfortunately, I was quite disheartened and disappointed with the meeting as the advisor was rather judgemental and stared blankly at me for most of the meeting. When it came time for the POLS250 winter essay, I truly focused on my academics and silenced the distractions happening in my personal life in which I received a B- on the essay. I had gone from failing each component of the course to receiving a B-. This proved to me that I am capable of doing well which is why receiving a second chance would allow me to achieve success.
Should an appeal on the faculty¿¿s decision that I must withdraw from Queen¿¿s be granted, I plan on achieving academic success by retaking courses that I have failed and not achieved success in. I plan on retaking POLS280, ECON212, and POS250 and no longer pursuing a minor in economics. This summer, I am repeating PSYC100 to improve my grade and GPA as I received a D- in first year. The extenuating circumstances that I have gone through this past academic year has helped me grow as a student and as a person altogether. This past year has taught me to reach out and get support when I need it the most. I will begin to seek counselling to deal with my own personal problems but also get help from student services in better ways to study and learn effectively for me to reach my full potential which I know that I am capable of.
Sincerely,
Michelle Le
I am appealing the faculty¿¿s decision that I must withdraw from Queen¿¿s for a year. My reason for appealing the decision is because of extenuating circumstances that have prevented me from performing well to get released from academic probation.
This past year has been a difficult one as I was diagnosed with PFS (Patello-Femoral Syndrome) in both knees. In the summer, the patella in my right knee became locked out of its place and I was rushed to the emergency rom. I was then referred to a knee specialist in Ottawa to do an MRI and x-ray which later diagnosed me with PFS in both of my knees. To get my knee strength back and rehabilitate my knee after the trauma, I was admitted into a physiotherapy program in Ottawa. During the month of September, I would travel back and forth from Kingston to Ottawa once every 2 or 3 weeks to continue my program. On certain dates, I was not able to get an appointment until Monday as my physiotherapist did not work on Fridays. Due to this, I would not make it back in time for certain lectures specifically the POLS250 and MATH126 lectures in which I received very low grades in. The travel and the rehabilitation of my knee contributed and affected my academic performance as I was unable to focus due to knee pain and discomfort as well as keeping up with my rehab program outside of the sessions. I had to adjust the way I do basic everyday functions because of my knee and the risk of my patella shifting out of its place again. By the time midterms came around, I had missed quite a bit of class and was not prepared to write the midterms resulting in a failure in POLS280, POLS250, and MATH126 midterms as well as handing in the final essay for POLS280 significiantly late.
During winter break, I had found out that my dad had suddenly left the house with little explanation or warning, he then demanded a separation and furthermore a divorce. During the winter semester, I was in a stage of sudden shock and was psychologically challenged to focus on my academics as I felt guilty that my mom and sister were home in Ottawa dealing with everything themselves. Following reading week, winter midterms approached and after being at home during reading week and witnessing my dad¿¿s absence and the way he treated us, I was unable to get any work done and was disheartened. Because of this, I failed the POLS250 and ECON212 midterm drastically making it almost impossible for me to bring up my marks after that. In the middle of January, I did meet with an academic advisor to seek advice and discuss my academic plan and courses I was concerned with. Unfortunately, I was quite disheartened and disappointed with the meeting as the advisor was rather judgemental and stared blankly at me for most of the meeting. When it came time for the POLS250 winter essay, I truly focused on my academics and silenced the distractions happening in my personal life in which I received a B- on the essay. I had gone from failing each component of the course to receiving a B-. This proved to me that I am capable of doing well which is why receiving a second chance would allow me to achieve success.
Should an appeal on the faculty¿¿s decision that I must withdraw from Queen¿¿s be granted, I plan on achieving academic success by retaking courses that I have failed and not achieved success in. I plan on retaking POLS280, ECON212, and POS250 and no longer pursuing a minor in economics. This summer, I am repeating PSYC100 to improve my grade and GPA as I received a D- in first year. The extenuating circumstances that I have gone through this past academic year has helped me grow as a student and as a person altogether. This past year has taught me to reach out and get support when I need it the most. I will begin to seek counselling to deal with my own personal problems but also get help from student services in better ways to study and learn effectively for me to reach my full potential which I know that I am capable of.
Sincerely,
Michelle Le
Academic Plan
Academic Plan: Course of Study
In my academic plan, I plan on pursuing a Bachelor¿¿s degree in Political Studies. I plan on repeating courses that I have failed and received very low marks in. I will be retaking POLS280, ECON212, and POLS250 as well as the prerequisite courses needed for third year Politics students. This year, in taking MATH126 and ECON212, I realize that pursuing an economics minor is not right for me which is why I have decided to only pursue a major plan only. I will also be taking a lighter course load hence I will be enrolling in another summer course during the summer term July ¿¿ August.
Strategies for Success
In strategies for success, I have identified the problems that stood in the way of my academic success in the past. One of the main problems is that I procrastinated and failed in time management. I would not keep up with the readings and only did assignments right before it was due. To mitigate this problem of mine, my plan is to find a peer mentor that I can meet up with once a week to keep me on track and help me design my own study schedule during the week. Another problem that prevented me from academic success was also that I rarely seek help from the professors or teaching assistants. I will plan to go to office hours once a week to get help from my professors or teaching assistants. Specifically, for the courses that I am repeating, I will be going every week to get down to the root of the problem as to why I underperformed in the first place. In addition to this, I will properly make use of all the resources that are available such as having consultations with student academic success services and attending writing center tutorials to improve my writing skills. As well, I will be attending on-campus workshops once a week to support and aid me in becoming an effective learner. Motivation was another issue that led to my failures. To help with motivation, throughout this summer, I will consult with my academic advisor Kathryn Morrissey to help me come up with a plan of the right courses for next year as well as a lighter course load. I will also meet with a learning strategist to assess my strengths, weaknesses, and skills to help me in coursework. As well, meet with a career counsellor to help me find what is appealing to me and what I can gain in certain courses.
Situational Demands
This past year, I have suffered from extenuating circumstances with my health but as well with the break-up of my family that demanded much of me mentally and physically which prevented me from succeeding in my academics. At first, my knee diagnosis took some adjustment in the beginning in which I greatly struggled with. Although, as I began to get into a strict routine of keeping up with my physiotherapy, I have noticed a great difference in my knee and have completely adjusted to this new part in my daily life. With the separation and pending divorce of my parents, it was a complete shock at first which took up most of my thoughts and drained me both mentally and physically. Being the eldest child, more responsibilities fell into my lap as my dad was no longer in the picture and I panicked. Yet, what I truly learned from this is that it takes time and asking for help in which I can overcome anything as there is always a solution to any problem. It has now been six months since my dad left and it just took time and acceptance for me to get use to my family situation. What helped me to overcome this part in my life, was that I started to plan for what is to come next for me, my mom, and my sister. Instead of dwelling on the past, I planned for my future and new adventures to come. Towards the end of second year, I honestly found out more about myself and found my place at Queen¿¿s. In joining a club and being on an executive team for the first time, I have many things to look forward to. I also seek help and advice by openly talking about my feelings, hurt, and thoughts to the people that are closest to me. For me to be able to talk to others and for them to listen, this helped a great deal for me to be mentally sane. Therefore, seeking professional counselling would do a great deal of good for me and I plan to use the mental health resources available to continue with my success of overcoming the situational demands I faced with this past year.
In my academic plan, I plan on pursuing a Bachelor¿¿s degree in Political Studies. I plan on repeating courses that I have failed and received very low marks in. I will be retaking POLS280, ECON212, and POLS250 as well as the prerequisite courses needed for third year Politics students. This year, in taking MATH126 and ECON212, I realize that pursuing an economics minor is not right for me which is why I have decided to only pursue a major plan only. I will also be taking a lighter course load hence I will be enrolling in another summer course during the summer term July ¿¿ August.
Strategies for Success
In strategies for success, I have identified the problems that stood in the way of my academic success in the past. One of the main problems is that I procrastinated and failed in time management. I would not keep up with the readings and only did assignments right before it was due. To mitigate this problem of mine, my plan is to find a peer mentor that I can meet up with once a week to keep me on track and help me design my own study schedule during the week. Another problem that prevented me from academic success was also that I rarely seek help from the professors or teaching assistants. I will plan to go to office hours once a week to get help from my professors or teaching assistants. Specifically, for the courses that I am repeating, I will be going every week to get down to the root of the problem as to why I underperformed in the first place. In addition to this, I will properly make use of all the resources that are available such as having consultations with student academic success services and attending writing center tutorials to improve my writing skills. As well, I will be attending on-campus workshops once a week to support and aid me in becoming an effective learner. Motivation was another issue that led to my failures. To help with motivation, throughout this summer, I will consult with my academic advisor Kathryn Morrissey to help me come up with a plan of the right courses for next year as well as a lighter course load. I will also meet with a learning strategist to assess my strengths, weaknesses, and skills to help me in coursework. As well, meet with a career counsellor to help me find what is appealing to me and what I can gain in certain courses.
Situational Demands
This past year, I have suffered from extenuating circumstances with my health but as well with the break-up of my family that demanded much of me mentally and physically which prevented me from succeeding in my academics. At first, my knee diagnosis took some adjustment in the beginning in which I greatly struggled with. Although, as I began to get into a strict routine of keeping up with my physiotherapy, I have noticed a great difference in my knee and have completely adjusted to this new part in my daily life. With the separation and pending divorce of my parents, it was a complete shock at first which took up most of my thoughts and drained me both mentally and physically. Being the eldest child, more responsibilities fell into my lap as my dad was no longer in the picture and I panicked. Yet, what I truly learned from this is that it takes time and asking for help in which I can overcome anything as there is always a solution to any problem. It has now been six months since my dad left and it just took time and acceptance for me to get use to my family situation. What helped me to overcome this part in my life, was that I started to plan for what is to come next for me, my mom, and my sister. Instead of dwelling on the past, I planned for my future and new adventures to come. Towards the end of second year, I honestly found out more about myself and found my place at Queen¿¿s. In joining a club and being on an executive team for the first time, I have many things to look forward to. I also seek help and advice by openly talking about my feelings, hurt, and thoughts to the people that are closest to me. For me to be able to talk to others and for them to listen, this helped a great deal for me to be mentally sane. Therefore, seeking professional counselling would do a great deal of good for me and I plan to use the mental health resources available to continue with my success of overcoming the situational demands I faced with this past year.
Documentation
Professional Letter: Emergency Report -0.pdf
Professional Letter Detail: The Emergency Report
Document: Diagnosis -0.pdf
Documentation Detail: Diagnosis of PFS
Document: Separation Agreement-1.doc
Documentation Detail: My parent's separation agreement
Document: E-mail-0.png
Documentation Detail: E-mail from my dad accompanied with the separation agreement