Petition Letter
Dear Dr. Dorit Naaman,
I am formally requesting to waive a petition deadline, specifically the deadline to request credit received in specific courses and to drop a course past the designated deadline.
I missed the one-year deadline to submit for credit received on first-year courses, due to an onset of unforeseen mental health decline that began in my first year at University. The decline carried over into my second year, during which I was in the early steps of seeking professional treatment. In Fall of 2024, I reached out to my QSAS advisor and requested to meet and discuss an accommodations plan for long-term accommodations for the rest of my time at Queen's. Although the accommodations I received effectively aided me in ensuring my academic successes throughout that academic year, I was still under immense mental pressure. I was struggling deeply with advocating for my mental health issues to receive the basic care I needed. Throughout all of my second year of university, I was in tunnel vision, trying to stay afloat and ensure I made it off of academic probation. This left me with little leeway to even consider appeals for my grades, as I was barely able to advocate for myself mentally; academically, advocating seemed feasibly impossible.
In October of 2024, I began therapy, which continued throughout the entirety of the academic year. The therapy I was partaking in was extremely tolling, as I was doing a mix of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Exposure Therapy. Sessions were weekly, from October 2024 through April 2025. Even when I was not in therapy, I had to work consistently outside of it, in efforts to slowly work on my mental health, which was incredibly taxing. In the fall of 2024, I also increased my dosage of medication, which is still an ongoing process, but greatly affects my ability to function. I currently reside with my family in the United States, which makes any processes regarding seeking care more challenging due to the limited timeframe given during the Academic year for me to meet with my healthcare providers. This makes medication adjustments more challenging as they cannot be adjusted unless meeting in person with my psychiatrist, and if the dosage is not correct, I am not able to adjust it until a break period. My psychiatrist cannot legally send any medications to any Canadian pharmacies or schedule online appointments to discuss potential changes with me. Given these circumstances, it was extremely difficult for me to balance my onset of mental health decline alongside intensive therapy, medicine adjustments, trying to keep my grades afloat, and submit an appeal within the given timeframe.
Through submitting this appeal for the deadline, if approved, I intend to discuss the possibilities of receiving credit received for three grades from my first year, and dropping one class from the same year. I truly feel that the grades I received within my first year do not appropriately reflect my abilities as a student. I did not have the mental capacity to advocate for myself mentally or academically, which left me below the threshold of any sense of capability a “normal” individual would have. With the help of QSAS, therapy, and medication increases, I am starting to feel a sense of stability, and I intend to continue working hard at my grades. Any grades I have received post the implementation of my accommodations, I feel, are accurate representations of my true abilities. I wholeheartedly love learning, and it is truly upsetting knowing that a turbulent period of time in my life defines how individuals would view my ability as a student. I intend to further my education after Undergraduate Studies and enter into a Master’s program, and I do not want my mental health decline to define my ability to succeed in the future, specifically regarding my cumulative GPA.
I am formally requesting to waive a petition deadline, specifically the deadline to request credit received in specific courses and to drop a course past the designated deadline.
I missed the one-year deadline to submit for credit received on first-year courses, due to an onset of unforeseen mental health decline that began in my first year at University. The decline carried over into my second year, during which I was in the early steps of seeking professional treatment. In Fall of 2024, I reached out to my QSAS advisor and requested to meet and discuss an accommodations plan for long-term accommodations for the rest of my time at Queen's. Although the accommodations I received effectively aided me in ensuring my academic successes throughout that academic year, I was still under immense mental pressure. I was struggling deeply with advocating for my mental health issues to receive the basic care I needed. Throughout all of my second year of university, I was in tunnel vision, trying to stay afloat and ensure I made it off of academic probation. This left me with little leeway to even consider appeals for my grades, as I was barely able to advocate for myself mentally; academically, advocating seemed feasibly impossible.
In October of 2024, I began therapy, which continued throughout the entirety of the academic year. The therapy I was partaking in was extremely tolling, as I was doing a mix of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Exposure Therapy. Sessions were weekly, from October 2024 through April 2025. Even when I was not in therapy, I had to work consistently outside of it, in efforts to slowly work on my mental health, which was incredibly taxing. In the fall of 2024, I also increased my dosage of medication, which is still an ongoing process, but greatly affects my ability to function. I currently reside with my family in the United States, which makes any processes regarding seeking care more challenging due to the limited timeframe given during the Academic year for me to meet with my healthcare providers. This makes medication adjustments more challenging as they cannot be adjusted unless meeting in person with my psychiatrist, and if the dosage is not correct, I am not able to adjust it until a break period. My psychiatrist cannot legally send any medications to any Canadian pharmacies or schedule online appointments to discuss potential changes with me. Given these circumstances, it was extremely difficult for me to balance my onset of mental health decline alongside intensive therapy, medicine adjustments, trying to keep my grades afloat, and submit an appeal within the given timeframe.
Through submitting this appeal for the deadline, if approved, I intend to discuss the possibilities of receiving credit received for three grades from my first year, and dropping one class from the same year. I truly feel that the grades I received within my first year do not appropriately reflect my abilities as a student. I did not have the mental capacity to advocate for myself mentally or academically, which left me below the threshold of any sense of capability a “normal” individual would have. With the help of QSAS, therapy, and medication increases, I am starting to feel a sense of stability, and I intend to continue working hard at my grades. Any grades I have received post the implementation of my accommodations, I feel, are accurate representations of my true abilities. I wholeheartedly love learning, and it is truly upsetting knowing that a turbulent period of time in my life defines how individuals would view my ability as a student. I intend to further my education after Undergraduate Studies and enter into a Master’s program, and I do not want my mental health decline to define my ability to succeed in the future, specifically regarding my cumulative GPA.