Manage Appeals
Petition Type: New
ID: 5080
Submitted: November 9, 2018 at 1:45:22 AM
First Name: Isabella
Last Name: Escobar
Student Number: 10194964
Degree Program: BSH
Plan: BIOL
Level of Study: 3
Petition Categories
Petition Categories: Waive the 21-day or one term deadline
Petition Letter
Petition Letter: Dear Associate Dean of Studies,
I am appealing to waive the one term deadline for appealing courses from the Winter 2018 term.
There are several extenuating circumstances I have faced over the past year, which have led me to write this appeal. My mom was diagnosed with an extremely rare and aggressive form of cancer on October 24th, 2017 and since then my life has been completely turned upside down. This diagnosis has not only severely disabled my mental health, it has also had extreme impacts on my academic performance. I was driving two hours home every weekend to take care of her and our family, and her being a single mother who heavily relies on my support, this was a difficult task for me. I have always struggled with my own mental health, however, her sickness had increased my anxiety, brought on bouts of panic attacks, as well as heightened my social anxiety due to isolation from those around me. Several of my Winter 2018 courses suffered tremendously as a direct result of my mother¿¿s illness as well as my own suffering mental health. With all my new responsibilities of taking care of my siblings, driving to and from hospital visits, and taking care of my mom after surgery; submitting my work on time seemed like my last priority. I hope that you will give me a chance to fully explain my experience over the school year in my appeal, however, in this letter I will explain the main reasons that I missed the deadline. When the Winter 2018 term ended, my focus continued to be on my mom, supporting my family, and improving my mental health. To be honest, I avoided checking my final marks at all because I knew that the results would be as bad as I predicted them to be. At this point, I was in denial about my horrible semester, and wanted to push any stress from school completely out of my life. I felt as if my plate was completely full, and I knew that I could not handle the added stress of finding out my final grades. By the time I checked my final exam marks, in June of 2018, I realized that I had failed one course, and received extremely poor marks in two others. My plan was to start fresh in September, and retake the one course that I had failed, PHGY210. I had no idea that with my situation I would be able to appeal, never mind know that an important deadline to do so was quickly approaching. It was July 20, 2018 when I emailed the school and was kindly informed by Allison Gowanlock with the faculty of Arts and Science, that the course I was planning to retake, PHGY210, was no longer offered at Queens University. Despite daily phone calls, I was not able to get through to talk to an advisor over the phone, so I decided to wait until September when I was done work to talk in person. At the beginning of September 2018, I was dealing with extreme anxiety from being back at school, and it brought back so many painful feelings with regards to my previous year. I felt embarrassed with my past marks, and the thought of explaining my whole situation brought me to the point of a panic attack. My anxiety became extremely disabling during the early weeks of September, to the point of vomiting daily. My social anxiety was also extremely difficult to deal with at this point, as last year I was very isolated due to my situation and felt very alone returning to campus. On September 10, 2018, I finally decided I would go to class, BIOL300 with Dr. Paul Martin. I attended class, and he explained that every class he would randomly call on students for answers to go towards participation marks. A request that seemed like a small inconvenience to most, sent me into a full panic attack. I immediately left class and drove two hours home to my family doctor. He was the only professional I¿¿ve ever opened up to about my anxiety, and he filled out a Queens Student Accessibility Form for me, verifying the extent of my anxiety and panic attacks. Thankfully, Dr.Martin was very understanding of my situation, and I did not go through with formal accommodations for that class. After this happened, I was able to see an academic advisor on September 18 2018, 3 days after the appeal deadline (which at the time I unfortunately did not know was of importance to me). I openly discussed my situation with the advisor, Spring Forsberg-Lewis, and we decided that the best option for my mental health was to drop two of the six courses that I had planned on taking. This was when she also mentioned the option to appeal my final grades, which was something that I did not even think was possible for me. After I found out the deadline had passed, I realized that I needed to stabilize my own mental health before I could successfully write my appeal. I tried to write the appeal several times, however each time my over-emotional explanation clouded the actual points that I was trying to convey. I then decided that I would take my time and wait until I was emotionally stable enough to allow myself to write about my struggle to the best of my ability. My mom has now been cleared for cancer, I am seeing my family doctor regularly, as well as hoping to get an appointment at Queens as soon as possible. I am only taking four courses this semester and am keeping up with course content. I feel as though the situations that impacted me previously are no longer influencing my academics, and I am prepared to take all the steps necessary to repair my grades. Therefore, I¿¿ve waited until now, November 9, 2018, to write this letter, and I hope you will be willing to consider giving me an opportunity to explain my struggle and how it directly influenced my final grades.
Thank you very much for your consideration,
Isabella Escobar (10194964)
I am appealing to waive the one term deadline for appealing courses from the Winter 2018 term.
There are several extenuating circumstances I have faced over the past year, which have led me to write this appeal. My mom was diagnosed with an extremely rare and aggressive form of cancer on October 24th, 2017 and since then my life has been completely turned upside down. This diagnosis has not only severely disabled my mental health, it has also had extreme impacts on my academic performance. I was driving two hours home every weekend to take care of her and our family, and her being a single mother who heavily relies on my support, this was a difficult task for me. I have always struggled with my own mental health, however, her sickness had increased my anxiety, brought on bouts of panic attacks, as well as heightened my social anxiety due to isolation from those around me. Several of my Winter 2018 courses suffered tremendously as a direct result of my mother¿¿s illness as well as my own suffering mental health. With all my new responsibilities of taking care of my siblings, driving to and from hospital visits, and taking care of my mom after surgery; submitting my work on time seemed like my last priority. I hope that you will give me a chance to fully explain my experience over the school year in my appeal, however, in this letter I will explain the main reasons that I missed the deadline. When the Winter 2018 term ended, my focus continued to be on my mom, supporting my family, and improving my mental health. To be honest, I avoided checking my final marks at all because I knew that the results would be as bad as I predicted them to be. At this point, I was in denial about my horrible semester, and wanted to push any stress from school completely out of my life. I felt as if my plate was completely full, and I knew that I could not handle the added stress of finding out my final grades. By the time I checked my final exam marks, in June of 2018, I realized that I had failed one course, and received extremely poor marks in two others. My plan was to start fresh in September, and retake the one course that I had failed, PHGY210. I had no idea that with my situation I would be able to appeal, never mind know that an important deadline to do so was quickly approaching. It was July 20, 2018 when I emailed the school and was kindly informed by Allison Gowanlock with the faculty of Arts and Science, that the course I was planning to retake, PHGY210, was no longer offered at Queens University. Despite daily phone calls, I was not able to get through to talk to an advisor over the phone, so I decided to wait until September when I was done work to talk in person. At the beginning of September 2018, I was dealing with extreme anxiety from being back at school, and it brought back so many painful feelings with regards to my previous year. I felt embarrassed with my past marks, and the thought of explaining my whole situation brought me to the point of a panic attack. My anxiety became extremely disabling during the early weeks of September, to the point of vomiting daily. My social anxiety was also extremely difficult to deal with at this point, as last year I was very isolated due to my situation and felt very alone returning to campus. On September 10, 2018, I finally decided I would go to class, BIOL300 with Dr. Paul Martin. I attended class, and he explained that every class he would randomly call on students for answers to go towards participation marks. A request that seemed like a small inconvenience to most, sent me into a full panic attack. I immediately left class and drove two hours home to my family doctor. He was the only professional I¿¿ve ever opened up to about my anxiety, and he filled out a Queens Student Accessibility Form for me, verifying the extent of my anxiety and panic attacks. Thankfully, Dr.Martin was very understanding of my situation, and I did not go through with formal accommodations for that class. After this happened, I was able to see an academic advisor on September 18 2018, 3 days after the appeal deadline (which at the time I unfortunately did not know was of importance to me). I openly discussed my situation with the advisor, Spring Forsberg-Lewis, and we decided that the best option for my mental health was to drop two of the six courses that I had planned on taking. This was when she also mentioned the option to appeal my final grades, which was something that I did not even think was possible for me. After I found out the deadline had passed, I realized that I needed to stabilize my own mental health before I could successfully write my appeal. I tried to write the appeal several times, however each time my over-emotional explanation clouded the actual points that I was trying to convey. I then decided that I would take my time and wait until I was emotionally stable enough to allow myself to write about my struggle to the best of my ability. My mom has now been cleared for cancer, I am seeing my family doctor regularly, as well as hoping to get an appointment at Queens as soon as possible. I am only taking four courses this semester and am keeping up with course content. I feel as though the situations that impacted me previously are no longer influencing my academics, and I am prepared to take all the steps necessary to repair my grades. Therefore, I¿¿ve waited until now, November 9, 2018, to write this letter, and I hope you will be willing to consider giving me an opportunity to explain my struggle and how it directly influenced my final grades.
Thank you very much for your consideration,
Isabella Escobar (10194964)
Documentation
Professional Letter: Isabella Doctors Notes-1.pdf
Professional Letter Detail: My family doctor's notes regarding my anxiety.
Document: Karen Escobar Cancer-0.jpg
Documentation Detail: My mother's doctors note regarding her cancer diagnosis.
Document: Karen Escobar Cancer 2-1.png
Documentation Detail: My mother's doctors note regarding her need for surgery.
Document: Email-4.png
Documentation Detail: My email with Dr.Martin regarding my anxiety.
Document: Email 2-1.png
Documentation Detail: My email with academic support regarding the discontinuation of PHGY210.
Amendment to Appeal 5080
Relevant Petition: 5080
New Information: Dear Associate Dean of Studies,
I am appealing for credit standing in BIOL205, BIOL243, BIOL201 (Fall, 2017), and BIOL202 and BIOL206 (Winter, 2018). I am also appealing to drop PHGY210 (Fall 2017/Winter 2018).
There are several extenuating circumstances I have faced over the past year, which have led me to write this appeal. My mom was diagnosed with an extremely rare and aggressive form of cancer on October 24th, 2017, and since then my life has been completely turned upside down. This diagnosis has not only severely disabled my mental health, it has also had extreme impacts on my academic performance. My mom is a single mother, and she heavily relies on me in our small family for support and guidance. I immediately knew that I had to be strong for her, and for my brother and sister. For the next few weeks, it was next to impossible for me to focus on anything other than taking care of my family. I went home every weekend and missed many classes. I have always struggled with my own mental health, however her sickness had increased my anxiety, brought on bouts of panic attacks, as well as heightened my social anxiety due to isolation from those around me. I did not think that dropping courses or taking a semester off was the right choice for me, as I was in denial that her condition would last longer than a few weeks. At the time, I felt as if it were selfish to address my own mental health when my mom was suffering from so much worse. She is usually the person I go to for everything, and I found it extremely difficult to keep all my thoughts inside as to not worry her or burden the family even more. I was having regular anxiety attacks to the point of vomiting daily. On November 10th, 2017, I decided to address my anxiety with my family doctor, and he got me to participate in Bounce Back, an over the phone program aimed to teach coping mechanisms to those who struggle from mental illness. On November 22nd I had a lab exam in BIOL201, the day before my mom¿¿s surgery, and I found it extremely hard to focus on studying when I was so worried. On November 23rd, I missed my BIOL243 lab to take her to her first surgery, and I took her to every appointment and emergency room visits that soon followed. I was the only other person home taking care of her, and as she could not walk and was in an immense amount of pain, this was a very difficult task. I was taking on so much responsibility, and had my whole family relying on me. Focusing on studying and submitting assignments seemed like my last priority. November 27th, 2017, I had a PHGY210 lab assignment due, and it was at a very difficult time because I was cooking, cleaning and taking care of my mom and family, and spending most days at home in Whitby. It was also at a time that my family was waiting for the pathology results to find out if the cancer had spread or not. It was nearing the end of the semester, and while most students were in the library studying for finals, I was driving home at least twice a week, in a constant state of worry, as well as trying to balance my own deteriorating mental health. At this point in the semester, I was so behind in all my courses, and had no time to catch up. As expected, I did very poorly on my Fall 2017 exams, and finished with a D+ in BIOL205, BIOL243, and BIOL201, and failed CHEM281. When the semester ended, I was relieved that I could focus on my family and my mental health without the added stress of school and deadlines. Unfortunately, on December 19, 2017, I got the news that my cousin had committed suicide. This was a devastating time for my family, and it turned an already horrible situation into a nightmare. The news right before Christmas crushed the little bit of hope I had for my situation and brought out even more mental health issues in not only myself, but the rest of my family as well. Now I was not only taking care of my mom and siblings, it also extended to my aunts and cousins, and increased the amount of suffering I was enduring myself. Coming back to school for second semester was extremely difficult for me, as my plans of resetting and dealing with my situation had not gone as planned over the break. I came back feeling very anxious being away from my family at such a hard time, and I continued to go home most weekends as my mom was dealing with treatments and surgeries. During the previous semester, I held a lot of my own pain and suffering in. It was at this time, around January of 2018, that I had time to let everything sink in. Due to this, I experienced extreme anxiety and depression, and my academics severely suffered. On February 28th, 2018 I had a BIOL202 midterm, which I received a 55 on. At this point in the semester, I was trying my best to prepare for midterms, as well as work towards repairing my mental health, and care for my family. I then had a midterm in BIOL206 on April 3rd, a lab exam on April 4th in BIOL202, a final assignment in MICRO270 on April 6th, as well as a final term report in PHGY210 on April 6th, 2018. At this time, I was so overwhelmed with having these deadlines so close together on top of all the other stress I was struggling with in my life, that I broke down. My mental health was suffering so severely that it led me to miss my lab exam on April 4th in BIOL202. I reached out to a few of my professors, which was difficult for me with my social anxiety, and thankfully, my BIOL202 professor, Dr.Vanderbeld was extremely accommodating. Unfortunately, all the other assignments due during this time suffered immensely. I was at my breaking point, and these assignments and exams at the same time caused me to completely shut down. After this, I was so behind in course content for final exams, especially in PHGY210 as it is a full year course, that I ended up failing PHGY210, and receiving a C- in BIOL202, and BIOL206. I did very well in HLTH237, because it was a course that required very little time commitment and was only composed of two small assignments and an easy exam. I also ended up with a poor mark of C+ in MICR270, however was advised not to appeal it as it was not below a C grade.
The past year was the hardest one I¿¿ve ever experienced. However, I am relieved to say that my situation has improved drastically. I feel that the circumstances which previously impacted my academics, no longer apply to me, and I am prepared to do everything possible to improve as a student. Thankfully, my mom has been cleared for cancer, so I will not be going home every weekend or constantly worrying about her health. This will greatly benefit the amount of time I will be able to spend on my school work. I started the semester off by discussing my situation with an academic advisor and planning my steps for success. I am taking a reduced course load, planning to take summer courses, taking part in this appeal process, as well as seeing my family doctor regularly to help with my anxiety. My doctor filled out a Queens Accessibility Form should I need accommodations in courses as well. In order to raise my GPA, I have decided to retake CHEM281 this summer, and focus on keeping my marks up. So far this semester I have been doing well and proactively asking for help with my work before it becomes an issue. I have been working in study groups to not only keep me on track with my work, but also to help with my social anxiety, and feel more involved with my peers. I have found yoga and meditation very helpful in the grieving process and have signed up for Queens Yoga Club this semester. These circumstances have taught me to not take life for granted, and to embrace the amazing opportunity I have to attend this school. These horrible experiences have given me a new appreciation for life and have sparked even more motivation for me to succeed at Queens, as well as life in general.
Thank you so much for your consideration,
Isabella Escobar (10194964)
I am appealing for credit standing in BIOL205, BIOL243, BIOL201 (Fall, 2017), and BIOL202 and BIOL206 (Winter, 2018). I am also appealing to drop PHGY210 (Fall 2017/Winter 2018).
There are several extenuating circumstances I have faced over the past year, which have led me to write this appeal. My mom was diagnosed with an extremely rare and aggressive form of cancer on October 24th, 2017, and since then my life has been completely turned upside down. This diagnosis has not only severely disabled my mental health, it has also had extreme impacts on my academic performance. My mom is a single mother, and she heavily relies on me in our small family for support and guidance. I immediately knew that I had to be strong for her, and for my brother and sister. For the next few weeks, it was next to impossible for me to focus on anything other than taking care of my family. I went home every weekend and missed many classes. I have always struggled with my own mental health, however her sickness had increased my anxiety, brought on bouts of panic attacks, as well as heightened my social anxiety due to isolation from those around me. I did not think that dropping courses or taking a semester off was the right choice for me, as I was in denial that her condition would last longer than a few weeks. At the time, I felt as if it were selfish to address my own mental health when my mom was suffering from so much worse. She is usually the person I go to for everything, and I found it extremely difficult to keep all my thoughts inside as to not worry her or burden the family even more. I was having regular anxiety attacks to the point of vomiting daily. On November 10th, 2017, I decided to address my anxiety with my family doctor, and he got me to participate in Bounce Back, an over the phone program aimed to teach coping mechanisms to those who struggle from mental illness. On November 22nd I had a lab exam in BIOL201, the day before my mom¿¿s surgery, and I found it extremely hard to focus on studying when I was so worried. On November 23rd, I missed my BIOL243 lab to take her to her first surgery, and I took her to every appointment and emergency room visits that soon followed. I was the only other person home taking care of her, and as she could not walk and was in an immense amount of pain, this was a very difficult task. I was taking on so much responsibility, and had my whole family relying on me. Focusing on studying and submitting assignments seemed like my last priority. November 27th, 2017, I had a PHGY210 lab assignment due, and it was at a very difficult time because I was cooking, cleaning and taking care of my mom and family, and spending most days at home in Whitby. It was also at a time that my family was waiting for the pathology results to find out if the cancer had spread or not. It was nearing the end of the semester, and while most students were in the library studying for finals, I was driving home at least twice a week, in a constant state of worry, as well as trying to balance my own deteriorating mental health. At this point in the semester, I was so behind in all my courses, and had no time to catch up. As expected, I did very poorly on my Fall 2017 exams, and finished with a D+ in BIOL205, BIOL243, and BIOL201, and failed CHEM281. When the semester ended, I was relieved that I could focus on my family and my mental health without the added stress of school and deadlines. Unfortunately, on December 19, 2017, I got the news that my cousin had committed suicide. This was a devastating time for my family, and it turned an already horrible situation into a nightmare. The news right before Christmas crushed the little bit of hope I had for my situation and brought out even more mental health issues in not only myself, but the rest of my family as well. Now I was not only taking care of my mom and siblings, it also extended to my aunts and cousins, and increased the amount of suffering I was enduring myself. Coming back to school for second semester was extremely difficult for me, as my plans of resetting and dealing with my situation had not gone as planned over the break. I came back feeling very anxious being away from my family at such a hard time, and I continued to go home most weekends as my mom was dealing with treatments and surgeries. During the previous semester, I held a lot of my own pain and suffering in. It was at this time, around January of 2018, that I had time to let everything sink in. Due to this, I experienced extreme anxiety and depression, and my academics severely suffered. On February 28th, 2018 I had a BIOL202 midterm, which I received a 55 on. At this point in the semester, I was trying my best to prepare for midterms, as well as work towards repairing my mental health, and care for my family. I then had a midterm in BIOL206 on April 3rd, a lab exam on April 4th in BIOL202, a final assignment in MICRO270 on April 6th, as well as a final term report in PHGY210 on April 6th, 2018. At this time, I was so overwhelmed with having these deadlines so close together on top of all the other stress I was struggling with in my life, that I broke down. My mental health was suffering so severely that it led me to miss my lab exam on April 4th in BIOL202. I reached out to a few of my professors, which was difficult for me with my social anxiety, and thankfully, my BIOL202 professor, Dr.Vanderbeld was extremely accommodating. Unfortunately, all the other assignments due during this time suffered immensely. I was at my breaking point, and these assignments and exams at the same time caused me to completely shut down. After this, I was so behind in course content for final exams, especially in PHGY210 as it is a full year course, that I ended up failing PHGY210, and receiving a C- in BIOL202, and BIOL206. I did very well in HLTH237, because it was a course that required very little time commitment and was only composed of two small assignments and an easy exam. I also ended up with a poor mark of C+ in MICR270, however was advised not to appeal it as it was not below a C grade.
The past year was the hardest one I¿¿ve ever experienced. However, I am relieved to say that my situation has improved drastically. I feel that the circumstances which previously impacted my academics, no longer apply to me, and I am prepared to do everything possible to improve as a student. Thankfully, my mom has been cleared for cancer, so I will not be going home every weekend or constantly worrying about her health. This will greatly benefit the amount of time I will be able to spend on my school work. I started the semester off by discussing my situation with an academic advisor and planning my steps for success. I am taking a reduced course load, planning to take summer courses, taking part in this appeal process, as well as seeing my family doctor regularly to help with my anxiety. My doctor filled out a Queens Accessibility Form should I need accommodations in courses as well. In order to raise my GPA, I have decided to retake CHEM281 this summer, and focus on keeping my marks up. So far this semester I have been doing well and proactively asking for help with my work before it becomes an issue. I have been working in study groups to not only keep me on track with my work, but also to help with my social anxiety, and feel more involved with my peers. I have found yoga and meditation very helpful in the grieving process and have signed up for Queens Yoga Club this semester. These circumstances have taught me to not take life for granted, and to embrace the amazing opportunity I have to attend this school. These horrible experiences have given me a new appreciation for life and have sparked even more motivation for me to succeed at Queens, as well as life in general.
Thank you so much for your consideration,
Isabella Escobar (10194964)
First Name: Isabella
Last Name: Escobar
Student Number: 10194964
Email: 15isme@queensu.ca
Degree Program: BSCH
Plan: BIOL
Level of Study: 4
Petition Categories
Petition Categories: Drop a course after the academic deadline, Request credit (CR) standing in a course or courses
Code: PHGY 210
Term: Fall/Winter
Year: 2018
Petition Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline
Code: BIOL 205
Term: Fall
Year: 2017
Petition Category: Request credit (CR) standing in a course or courses
Instructor's Name: William Bendena
Code: BIOL 243
Term: Fall
Year: 2017
Petition Category: Request credit (CR) standing in a course or courses
Instructor's Name: William Nelson
Code: BIOL 201
Term: Fall
Year: 2017
Petition Category: Request credit (CR) standing in a course or courses
Instructor's Name: Lonnie Aarssen
Code: BIOL 202
Term: Winter
Year: 2018
Petition Category: Request credit (CR) standing in a course or courses
Instructor's Name: Bruce Tufts
Code: BIOL 206
Term: Winter
Year: 2018
Petition Category: Request credit (CR) standing in a course or courses
Instructor's Name: Victoria Friesen
Petition Letter
Petition Letter: attached
Documentation
Professional Letter Detail: Documentation of my mom's cancer
Document: Karen Escobar Cancer 2-2.png
Documentation Detail: Documentation of my mom's surgery
Document: Isabella Doctors Notes-2.pdf
Documentation Detail: Documentation of my anxiety, panic disorder, and social anxiety.