Petition Letter
Lucie Ma
A315, 1220 rue des Résidences
Saint-Martin-d'Hères, France 38406
+33 06 95 93 39 73
13lym@queensu.ca
January 30, 2016
Dr. Johannes Bénard
Associate Dean (Studies)
Dunning Hall - First Floor
94 Queen's University
Kingston, ON Canada
K7L 3N6
Dear Dr. Bénard,
My name is Lucie Ma and I am a 3rd year Mathematics major, French minor at Queen's University. I am appealing to take courses at Université Joseph Fourier (UJF) in France for the Winter semester of 2016.
I was on exchange with the Ontario-Rhônes-Alpes (ORA) exchange program at UJF for the Fall semester of 2015, and towards the end of the Fall semester I decided to spend an extra semester at UJF as a Queen's student on an independent study abroad. There are two main reasons for this decision.
One is that I have really enjoyed my first semester in France and would thus like to prolong my stay. Not only would I like to deepen my understanding of the French culture, but I would also like to become more skilled with the French language. Becoming at ease with the different education system took a lot of time and energy, as with integrating into the French student body. My academic performance has been compromised in this foreign situation in comparison with that of at Queen's. Now that I felt more comfortable in this environment, I know that I can discover many more, perhaps subtler, aspects of the people, culture, and language of this country, if I am granted with more time.
The other reason is that, French tuition is less than Canadian tuition. I have been receiving aid from the Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP) since my first year at Queen's, and my student loan has been accumulating ever since. To say that my financial obligations have no effect on my studies would be unfrank. I regret to say that the amount of my loan and the pressure that I feel have quite a strong positive correlation. As an adult, I take full responsibility of my education, including financial responsibility, and would very much appreciate if it could be relatively alleviated.
From the very conception of this thought of prolonging my exchange in France, I have communicated extensively with various different parties. I have support from my Undergraduate Chair, the International Programs Office (IPO), as well as my host university. I have been taking a full course load at UJF since the beginning of the academic year, since all credits will be transferred to contribute to my Queen's Bachelor of Science, Honours degree. Moreover, I have also planned out the courses that I will be taking for my fourth year at Queen's; in fact, they are in my Planner under my SOLUS account. Having been on the Dean's Honours List since first year, I am confident that I will graduate on time.
Thank you very much for your time and consideration.
Sincerely,
Lucie Ma
A315, 1220 rue des Résidences
Saint-Martin-d'Hères, France 38406
+33 06 95 93 39 73
13lym@queensu.ca
January 30, 2016
Dr. Johannes Bénard
Associate Dean (Studies)
Dunning Hall - First Floor
94 Queen's University
Kingston, ON Canada
K7L 3N6
Dear Dr. Bénard,
My name is Lucie Ma and I am a 3rd year Mathematics major, French minor at Queen's University. I am appealing to take courses at Université Joseph Fourier (UJF) in France for the Winter semester of 2016.
I was on exchange with the Ontario-Rhônes-Alpes (ORA) exchange program at UJF for the Fall semester of 2015, and towards the end of the Fall semester I decided to spend an extra semester at UJF as a Queen's student on an independent study abroad. There are two main reasons for this decision.
One is that I have really enjoyed my first semester in France and would thus like to prolong my stay. Not only would I like to deepen my understanding of the French culture, but I would also like to become more skilled with the French language. Becoming at ease with the different education system took a lot of time and energy, as with integrating into the French student body. My academic performance has been compromised in this foreign situation in comparison with that of at Queen's. Now that I felt more comfortable in this environment, I know that I can discover many more, perhaps subtler, aspects of the people, culture, and language of this country, if I am granted with more time.
The other reason is that, French tuition is less than Canadian tuition. I have been receiving aid from the Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP) since my first year at Queen's, and my student loan has been accumulating ever since. To say that my financial obligations have no effect on my studies would be unfrank. I regret to say that the amount of my loan and the pressure that I feel have quite a strong positive correlation. As an adult, I take full responsibility of my education, including financial responsibility, and would very much appreciate if it could be relatively alleviated.
From the very conception of this thought of prolonging my exchange in France, I have communicated extensively with various different parties. I have support from my Undergraduate Chair, the International Programs Office (IPO), as well as my host university. I have been taking a full course load at UJF since the beginning of the academic year, since all credits will be transferred to contribute to my Queen's Bachelor of Science, Honours degree. Moreover, I have also planned out the courses that I will be taking for my fourth year at Queen's; in fact, they are in my Planner under my SOLUS account. Having been on the Dean's Honours List since first year, I am confident that I will graduate on time.
Thank you very much for your time and consideration.
Sincerely,
Lucie Ma