Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: To Dr. Stephenson, Associate Dean (Studies),

I hope this letter finds all who read it in good health. I am writing in response to the ruling placed on my record stating that I am ineligible to proceed to an Honours degree.

I am appealing to drop the following courses past the academic deadline: CHEM 321 and CHEM 223 (both from Winter 2019).

For the past few years I have been struggling with my mental health. Up until the fall of 2017 I had been able to manage my moderate depression and anxiety and perform academically at a satisfactory level, albeit not as successfully as before. During the academic year of 2017- 2018 I experienced severe anxiety which took over my life. I could not sleep nor eat, and struggled to leave my house, let alone attend classes without experiencing debilitating panic attacks. Upon returning home from school for the summer I went to a doctor and was prescribed an anti-anxiety medication, one of the side effects of which was worsened depression. I thought that this would be enough to control the effect that my mental health symptoms were having on my personal and academic lives. Upon returning to school for the 2018-2019 academic year I fell into a deep depression. I was sleeping for 16 hours a day and, frankly, I did not care that I was failing nearly all my classes. I couldn't even bring myself to attend the majority of my final examinations during the fall semester. This continued about a month into the winter semester, until I ran out of refills on my prescription. Unable to get myself to a doctor, I stopped taking the medication. Within a couple weeks of being off the anti-anxiety medication I was sleeping less and caring more about my own well-being. My anxiety symptoms came back, but these were easier to manage than the crippling depression I had been experiencing for most of the year. I was still suffering from panic attacks when going to classes and attempting to complete course work, and I was sleeping and eating less than I needed to in order to be well and to perform well academically. I had difficulty focusing when completing course work and while attending lectures and the restlessness that I felt while in lectures only worsened my lack of focus. I was also still experiencing depressive episodes which would leave me paralyzed with fear; however, I managed to salvage my grades for two of my classes by reading the textbooks and studying the course material on my own, and I am very proud of myself for that. I tried as hard as I could to pass my other two classes as well, but I was too far behind to be able to do so and the academic deadline to drop the courses had already passed. Since the summer has begun I have been regularly seeing a therapist and I have learned how to cope with my mental illnesses, as well as what to do if I feel myself sinking back into a dark place. I have spent the last few months trying to figure out what is best for my future and I genuinely believe that I am ready to put my mental health struggles behind me and finish my studies.

Should my appeal be granted my cumulative GPA would go from 1.880 to a 1.93, allowing me to continue pursuing my BScH. I will drop my chemistry minor which will permit me to finish the 15.0 credits that I need to complete my degree as a part time student. I believe that the reduced course load will significantly lessen the impact that my mental health struggles have had on my academic performance. Additionally, I will be continuing therapy while in Kingston to ensure that my mental health continues to improve. I will also be taking the advice of my academic counsellor and registering with Queen's accessibility services in order to receive the support that I need to finish my degree.

For the first time in a while I am excited for the future. I know that there is no way to get back the time that I have lost to mental illness, but I truly hope that I have not lost the opportunity to graduate with my Honours degree from Queen's.

Sincerely,
Maddison LeBlanc