Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: My name is Reid Kerr-Keller. As of April 2015, I am a student in the Faculty of Arts and Science at Queen¿¿s, studying Sociology.

I am appealing to waive the 21-day deadline for academic appeals. If approved, I will be seeking to drop my failed courses from both the 2013/2014, and 2014/2015 academic years.

I suffer from clinically diagnosed Bipolar Disorder. Although I have been suffering from this for the better part of my adult life, I¿¿ve only been diagnosed since this past January. In the time since, I¿¿ve gone through the process of finding appropriate medication, which led to a period of mild worsening of my condition. Although I am now doing better and finding my life more stable, the process has been long and arduous.

Over the past two years, the cycle of depression and mania that is symptomatic of my condition has played havoc with my ability to address my rapidly deteriorating academic situation. As you will see, my transcript is a train-wreck.

The primary obstacle of Bipolar Disorder is inconsistency. At a time in my life during which I should be focused on developing reliable work habits, organizational skills, and the other hallmarks of success, I¿¿ve instead found myself working to combat the urge to hide from the world in a dark room.

It is difficult to explain what it can mean to have depression as a constant force in your life. And the other end of the Bipolar spectrum ¿¿mania¿¿ can have an equally detrimental effect. I¿¿ve spent the last two years of my life alternately so high I was planning novels and business plans at the expense of school or so low I couldn¿¿t eat.

With the help of a combination of medication, mental exercises and lifestyle adjustments (drastically cutting back on alcohol, careful monitoring of my diet, physical activity etc), I am now in a position I¿¿ve been working to get back since graduating high school: stability. My fear is that my failure to keep up academically may well have already cost me my chance at continuing my education at Queen¿¿s.

What I can I assure you is that I do not take this process lightly. I go into this with the full awareness that had I been born even 30 years ago, I might not have an opportunity to ask for academic leniency with regard to my mental health. I¿¿m lucky to have that chance at all, and I appreciate the consideration of my situation¿¿ regardless of outcome.

If approved, I will continue the path which I have been on since addressing my condition these past few months. That is one of hard work, commitment and self-improvement. My education means everything to me, and I hope I have the opportunity to prove that.

Thank you so much for your time,

Reid Kerr-Keller