Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: To: Associate Dean (Studies)

From: Taylor Wilson
Student Number: 20023237

June 15, 2017

My request:
I kindly request that my grades for Anatomy, 101 and CLST 103 (Winter term 2017) are expunged from my transcript (dropped late) due to the extenuating circumstances I will explain.

Extenuating Circumstances:
I was diagnosed with clinical depression and anxiety in 2012. My depression and anxiety have had a tremendous impact as they have impeded me in the past from attending school and participating in life. To help me develop strategies for addressing my mental health challenges, I participated in a day program at North York General Hospital in grade 10 (2013-2014). To enhance my potential for success, I then attended Jerome Diamond, a ¿therapeutic school¿¿ for grade 11 and Blythe Academy for grade 12, and did well in both of these schools. When it was time to apply to University I was confident that I could handle the demands of a) being away from home (b) dealing with university courses and (c) university life. I was ecstatic when I was accepted into Queens and felt that I had finally reached a point in my life where I was ¿stable¿¿ with respect to depression and that I had effective strategies to help me deal with my anxiety.

Because I felt positive about my potential for success, I registered for a full load of courses in my first term at Queens University and started off the term strong. I attended classes and was doing well in psychology and could handle the demands of cognitive science. However, I soon realized that I had overextended myself by registering for a full load of courses and dropped several courses so that my workload was more manageable.

Unfortunately as time went on my mood became despondent and my anxiety rose to the point where I felt like I was choking. Realizing that I was heading for problems, I made an appointment with an academic counselor and was fortunate to have met with Ms. Spring Forsberg-Lewis. I connected with Spring and felt supported by her. She understood my angst and helped me drop some courses. Despite a lower course load, and the support of Spring, my mental health continued to deteriorate. In December 2016 I took myself to Kingston General Hospital Emergency Department and requested to see a psychiatrist because I was depressed and scared (report attached).

I had hoped that the December break would provide time to prepare me for the Winter term, but unfortunately the New Year didn¿¿t bring me any significant relief. My second term academics suffered as much as I did. I felt like I was falling backwards with respect to my mood which scared me. I used all available supports, making numerous trips home to see my family and psychiatrist. We tried a number of things, including adjustments to medications and a light therapy lamp, and hoped that these would help. However, again, despite using all available resources, January 2017 onwards was a struggle for me. I had difficulty getting to class, focusing on work/assignments and meeting deadlines (e.g., dropping classes prior to academic deadlines).


Future Plan:
I realize that while I very much want to continue at Queens, I have to readjust my expectations and strategies for the future. I have given my situation serious thought with respect to how and what I can do to support success in my future studies and have developed an action plan in consultation with my parents and psychiatrist.

First, I am going to enter September 2017 studies with realistic expectations. I now know that I can not register for a full course load. I recognize that expecting anything other than this is unrealistic and will only cause undue stress which may cause me to feel depressed that I am not meeting the expectations I have put-forth. In addition, to help reduce my anxiety I will enroll in Yoga classes (as of September 2017) and intent to attend 2- 3/week. I will also proactively seek support from the on campus counselors and I have discussed my past experience with on campus conselors with Spring who has agreed to help me connect with someone in the fall. I did so during the 2016-17 academic year however I did connect with campus student health and the experience was not great. Spring Forsberg-Lewis will help me connect with someone in the fall of 2017. Additionally, to help me stay on track and monitor my mental helath, I will follow up with my Toronto psychiatrist every 3 months or more frequently if required. I believe that this plan will assist me in meeting my academic goals.

I thank you for your consideration. I will have an appointment with my psychiatrist next week and I will request a letter from her in support of this appeal. I will forward Dr. Gordon¿¿s report as soon as I receive it.

I do look forward to starting over/fresh. Thank you for your time and consideration of my appeal.

Sincerely,

Taylor Wilson