Petition Letter
Dear Associate Dean,
I am writing this letter to apply for a reassessment of my academic standings as I would like to drop the two courses (PSYC 100 and SOCY 122, 2014-2015) I was not able to pass during the last school year. Roughly since the beginning of second semester, I went through quite a bit of mental stress that was caused by the financial stability in my family.
My father works as a construction engineer and is the sole income source for our family of four. His job has been stable in the last few years, but in late January he told me his company is facing market issues, and as a result he was in risk of being laid off because he has developed hearing issues over years of noise pollution at his work sites, which makes finding a new job even harder. Just about a month later, on March 2nd, this unfortunate news became reality and I felt devastated as the continuation of my education became a question. I already had to rely on OSAP¿¿s funding to lessen my family¿¿s financial burden, and now that my father is without a job everything seemed so much more difficult.
Many concerns rose to my mind: Will my family¿¿s savings last us long enough till he finds another job Am I going to have a chance to return to Queen¿¿s in the upcoming school year If so, will I have enough money to rent a living space These things I have never considered beforehand suddenly all became realistic doubts and fears, and I was no less than overwhelmed. Having been under the care and support of my family for more than eighteen years, I was able to rely on them for help in the past whenever I was scared or confused. Yet for the first time, I found myself completely alone in front of a problem even my family cannot solve. I began to lose concentration and motivation in most of my classes, and changed from a generally outgoing person to someone who locked himself in his student residence anytime out of class.
I began to miss classes as I simply could not focus on anything the professors say, only mechanically taking down notes and not able to think and understand the material. I also started having trouble to fall asleep, often going to bed around eleven or twelve but find myself still wake by three or four in the morning, because whenever I closed my eyes all I could think of were the aforementioned things I feared. Due to these reasons, I fell behind on all of my courses, and the impact was especially great on the two courses that I did not pass.
It is now June, my father has yet to find a new job, and to make matters worse I just received a letter from OSAP stating they will not provide me with loan support for the upcoming school year due to the academic probation. Albeit I have learned to be stronger mentally and now feel prepared to correct my failures, the lack of monetary support from OSAP would certainly make it much more difficult for both me and my family. I am currently doing summer jobs to lessen the financial burden on my family, and if the two failed courses were to be dropped, I would no longer be in academic probation and will be able to return to my studies with government loans. I believe this will help me succeed in the upcoming school year. I will also seek help if this happens again in the future, be it getting academic support from the student help center or consulting a counsellor/advisor. I realize that ultimately I fell in this situation due to my own mistakes and immaturity in handling stress, but I have learned and grown through this experience. It would mean so much if I could have my application approved, and I assure you I will not let similar personal factors hinder my studies again. Thank you so much for reading this letter and giving consideration to my situation.
Sincerely,
Shiwei Zhuang
I am writing this letter to apply for a reassessment of my academic standings as I would like to drop the two courses (PSYC 100 and SOCY 122, 2014-2015) I was not able to pass during the last school year. Roughly since the beginning of second semester, I went through quite a bit of mental stress that was caused by the financial stability in my family.
My father works as a construction engineer and is the sole income source for our family of four. His job has been stable in the last few years, but in late January he told me his company is facing market issues, and as a result he was in risk of being laid off because he has developed hearing issues over years of noise pollution at his work sites, which makes finding a new job even harder. Just about a month later, on March 2nd, this unfortunate news became reality and I felt devastated as the continuation of my education became a question. I already had to rely on OSAP¿¿s funding to lessen my family¿¿s financial burden, and now that my father is without a job everything seemed so much more difficult.
Many concerns rose to my mind: Will my family¿¿s savings last us long enough till he finds another job Am I going to have a chance to return to Queen¿¿s in the upcoming school year If so, will I have enough money to rent a living space These things I have never considered beforehand suddenly all became realistic doubts and fears, and I was no less than overwhelmed. Having been under the care and support of my family for more than eighteen years, I was able to rely on them for help in the past whenever I was scared or confused. Yet for the first time, I found myself completely alone in front of a problem even my family cannot solve. I began to lose concentration and motivation in most of my classes, and changed from a generally outgoing person to someone who locked himself in his student residence anytime out of class.
I began to miss classes as I simply could not focus on anything the professors say, only mechanically taking down notes and not able to think and understand the material. I also started having trouble to fall asleep, often going to bed around eleven or twelve but find myself still wake by three or four in the morning, because whenever I closed my eyes all I could think of were the aforementioned things I feared. Due to these reasons, I fell behind on all of my courses, and the impact was especially great on the two courses that I did not pass.
It is now June, my father has yet to find a new job, and to make matters worse I just received a letter from OSAP stating they will not provide me with loan support for the upcoming school year due to the academic probation. Albeit I have learned to be stronger mentally and now feel prepared to correct my failures, the lack of monetary support from OSAP would certainly make it much more difficult for both me and my family. I am currently doing summer jobs to lessen the financial burden on my family, and if the two failed courses were to be dropped, I would no longer be in academic probation and will be able to return to my studies with government loans. I believe this will help me succeed in the upcoming school year. I will also seek help if this happens again in the future, be it getting academic support from the student help center or consulting a counsellor/advisor. I realize that ultimately I fell in this situation due to my own mistakes and immaturity in handling stress, but I have learned and grown through this experience. It would mean so much if I could have my application approved, and I assure you I will not let similar personal factors hinder my studies again. Thank you so much for reading this letter and giving consideration to my situation.
Sincerely,
Shiwei Zhuang