Petition Letter
Dear Associate Dean (Studies),
My name is ShangNan Shi, and my student number is 20033757. I am appealing the Faculty¿¿s decision that I must withdraw from Queen¿¿s for a minimum of one year.
It is surprising that I¿¿ve already been studying at Queen¿¿s for two years now, and I¿¿ve never imagined myself in a situation like this. My family isn¿¿t wealthy. In fact, I had my first job when I was 14, and I worked as a tutor. My mom has been passively looking for jobs, and there was no luck, especially in BC. Even though she became a certified realtor a year ago, due to the intensive competition and she was new to the industry, I decided to find a part-time job, to reduce my mother¿¿s pressure on her back, so she wouldn¿¿t need to worry too much about me. I started working at Sakura Restaurant, located at Frontenac Mall, Kingston, as a part-time employee. I started during the first Christmas in Kingston, and almost worked every day: two full day on weekends, and after my last lecture during weekdays. I was aware of what it would take regarding my studies, but I was doing well during the first half of the school year. I understood all the materials and was able to catch up quickly on those more difficult topics. I was confident that I could handle my job and school at the same time. Then some family issue occurred. My grandfather passed away, and I haven¿¿t seen him for the past 4 years, and wouldn¿¿t be able to see him for the last time either. I got extremely depressed, so I stopped going to lectures, but continually went to work. Professor Keiko Aoki from Japanese 100 noticed my unusual behavior, and she helped me out during that time period, especially in Japanese Study. My grades weren¿¿t ideal for my first year. Even though I was more motivated during my second year of study, working is still a big deal for me, since I need to financially support myself to pay off my house rent, bills, food, even a portion of my tuition because I didn¿¿t get much from governmental loan. For the year of 2017, I made approximately 13,000 in 8 months at Sakura Resturant (T4 as supportive document). My course schedule was all planned out so that I would have one day with no lectures. I also enrolled in several online courses, hoping I would have a more flexible schedule. However, it didn¿¿t end up well, either. The materials are getting harder, and they require a lot more time investment, especially in those second-year Chemistry and Biology courses, and it¿¿s hard to keep up with the online courses, as I missed all the assignment and quizzes. Even though I stopped working during the exam period (for both December and April exams), I couldn¿¿t make up for the lack of engagement and time investment of my studies.
What would I do if my appeal is granted First of all, I have already talked to my mother about my situation. After some discussion and calculation, we¿¿ve come up to an agreement that she would support me 500 dollars each month for my future study. With the savings I have right now (about 6700, see supportive document), I don¿¿t have to work as much as I used to do. In other words, I can devote myself to my school work, with very minimal distraction. Then is my poor GPA score. I¿¿ve decided to retake a couple of my failed courses so that it would raise my GPA by a bit. I would expect to maintain my future grades around B level. It is something I¿¿m capable of achieving. In addition, I am enrolled in several summer courses. I¿¿ve been making a timeline for each course, marking the due dates for assignment and quizzes, and organizing my daily schedule so I could balance my study and break time. I believe there is no way I can fail, if I keep up with the good habits, and maintain them for the rest of my study at Queen¿¿s.
I would fully respect Faculty¿¿s final decision. However, I genuinely ask you, to reconsider, and give me another chance. I want to show you how determined I am. If I fail to complete the goal I set, I will accept the decision of withdrawal of three years.
Sincerely,
ShangNan S
June 4th, 2018
My name is ShangNan Shi, and my student number is 20033757. I am appealing the Faculty¿¿s decision that I must withdraw from Queen¿¿s for a minimum of one year.
It is surprising that I¿¿ve already been studying at Queen¿¿s for two years now, and I¿¿ve never imagined myself in a situation like this. My family isn¿¿t wealthy. In fact, I had my first job when I was 14, and I worked as a tutor. My mom has been passively looking for jobs, and there was no luck, especially in BC. Even though she became a certified realtor a year ago, due to the intensive competition and she was new to the industry, I decided to find a part-time job, to reduce my mother¿¿s pressure on her back, so she wouldn¿¿t need to worry too much about me. I started working at Sakura Restaurant, located at Frontenac Mall, Kingston, as a part-time employee. I started during the first Christmas in Kingston, and almost worked every day: two full day on weekends, and after my last lecture during weekdays. I was aware of what it would take regarding my studies, but I was doing well during the first half of the school year. I understood all the materials and was able to catch up quickly on those more difficult topics. I was confident that I could handle my job and school at the same time. Then some family issue occurred. My grandfather passed away, and I haven¿¿t seen him for the past 4 years, and wouldn¿¿t be able to see him for the last time either. I got extremely depressed, so I stopped going to lectures, but continually went to work. Professor Keiko Aoki from Japanese 100 noticed my unusual behavior, and she helped me out during that time period, especially in Japanese Study. My grades weren¿¿t ideal for my first year. Even though I was more motivated during my second year of study, working is still a big deal for me, since I need to financially support myself to pay off my house rent, bills, food, even a portion of my tuition because I didn¿¿t get much from governmental loan. For the year of 2017, I made approximately 13,000 in 8 months at Sakura Resturant (T4 as supportive document). My course schedule was all planned out so that I would have one day with no lectures. I also enrolled in several online courses, hoping I would have a more flexible schedule. However, it didn¿¿t end up well, either. The materials are getting harder, and they require a lot more time investment, especially in those second-year Chemistry and Biology courses, and it¿¿s hard to keep up with the online courses, as I missed all the assignment and quizzes. Even though I stopped working during the exam period (for both December and April exams), I couldn¿¿t make up for the lack of engagement and time investment of my studies.
What would I do if my appeal is granted First of all, I have already talked to my mother about my situation. After some discussion and calculation, we¿¿ve come up to an agreement that she would support me 500 dollars each month for my future study. With the savings I have right now (about 6700, see supportive document), I don¿¿t have to work as much as I used to do. In other words, I can devote myself to my school work, with very minimal distraction. Then is my poor GPA score. I¿¿ve decided to retake a couple of my failed courses so that it would raise my GPA by a bit. I would expect to maintain my future grades around B level. It is something I¿¿m capable of achieving. In addition, I am enrolled in several summer courses. I¿¿ve been making a timeline for each course, marking the due dates for assignment and quizzes, and organizing my daily schedule so I could balance my study and break time. I believe there is no way I can fail, if I keep up with the good habits, and maintain them for the rest of my study at Queen¿¿s.
I would fully respect Faculty¿¿s final decision. However, I genuinely ask you, to reconsider, and give me another chance. I want to show you how determined I am. If I fail to complete the goal I set, I will accept the decision of withdrawal of three years.
Sincerely,
ShangNan S
June 4th, 2018