Petition Letter
Dear Associate Deans of the Faculty of Arts and Science,
My name is Kyrin Boudreau, and I am in my third year of Gender Studies Major and Health Studies Minor. I am appealing to drop three of my courses after the academic deadline of the Fall 2018 semester, following several emotional obstacles throughout the term. The classes I am looking to drop are GNDS 120, GNDS 212, and HLTH 205.
Throughout the Fall 2018 semester I have had an increase in symptoms of a severe mental health diagnosis, and later the loss of a family member makes me unable to complete work within my courses. I became aware of my decreasing mental health in early October as symptoms began to escalate and I was unable to attend classes for a short period of time. Following this decline, I applied for academic accommodations through Queens Student Accessibility Services (QSAS) in late October and received my confirmed documentation on October 26, 2018. These accommodations positively impacted my schooling by allowing me to complete work and assessments more conveniently. On Monday the 19th of November my uncle, Jim Murphy, passed away from an on-going illness. The news of my uncles passing was devastating, and I was unable to attend classes for week 11. I am still in the process of grieving and feel unable to complete final assignments and exams due to the growing barriers of grief and worsening mental health conditions. These impacts have made it hard to get out of bed, focus, and even perform daily personal care. This limits my ability to focus on school and makes me unable to complete my courses. Steps I am taking to handle these circumstances include continuing physician treatment provided by my family doctor and booking more frequent appointments with my psychiatrist. I didn't drop the courses earlier in the semester, because at the time I felt I was healthy enough to complete these courses in good academic standing. However, due to the worsening mental health conditions, and the death of my uncle it soon became clear I am unable to finish these courses and appealing to drop my three courses is my only option.
I do not plan on returning to Queens University following the conclusion of the Fall 2018 term, because I have never been passionate about the programs I have been learning. I have applied to programs outside of Queens University that are more in line with the future path I wish to take and believe it is the correct next step for me. The reason I did not come to this conclusion sooner is that I had to hit rock bottom to realize drastic change was required. I also plan to continue working with my family physician to alleviate the symptoms of my mental health diagnoses by adjusting treatment to find the correct path. Additionally, I am scheduling weekly appointments with my psychiatrist in order to alleviate the daily struggle I face concerning my mental illnesses. By taking these steps, I am hoping to have more success in my future studies in a program I feel I belong in. I would like to thank you for your consideration in this appeal.
Sincerely,
Kyrin Boudreau
My name is Kyrin Boudreau, and I am in my third year of Gender Studies Major and Health Studies Minor. I am appealing to drop three of my courses after the academic deadline of the Fall 2018 semester, following several emotional obstacles throughout the term. The classes I am looking to drop are GNDS 120, GNDS 212, and HLTH 205.
Throughout the Fall 2018 semester I have had an increase in symptoms of a severe mental health diagnosis, and later the loss of a family member makes me unable to complete work within my courses. I became aware of my decreasing mental health in early October as symptoms began to escalate and I was unable to attend classes for a short period of time. Following this decline, I applied for academic accommodations through Queens Student Accessibility Services (QSAS) in late October and received my confirmed documentation on October 26, 2018. These accommodations positively impacted my schooling by allowing me to complete work and assessments more conveniently. On Monday the 19th of November my uncle, Jim Murphy, passed away from an on-going illness. The news of my uncles passing was devastating, and I was unable to attend classes for week 11. I am still in the process of grieving and feel unable to complete final assignments and exams due to the growing barriers of grief and worsening mental health conditions. These impacts have made it hard to get out of bed, focus, and even perform daily personal care. This limits my ability to focus on school and makes me unable to complete my courses. Steps I am taking to handle these circumstances include continuing physician treatment provided by my family doctor and booking more frequent appointments with my psychiatrist. I didn't drop the courses earlier in the semester, because at the time I felt I was healthy enough to complete these courses in good academic standing. However, due to the worsening mental health conditions, and the death of my uncle it soon became clear I am unable to finish these courses and appealing to drop my three courses is my only option.
I do not plan on returning to Queens University following the conclusion of the Fall 2018 term, because I have never been passionate about the programs I have been learning. I have applied to programs outside of Queens University that are more in line with the future path I wish to take and believe it is the correct next step for me. The reason I did not come to this conclusion sooner is that I had to hit rock bottom to realize drastic change was required. I also plan to continue working with my family physician to alleviate the symptoms of my mental health diagnoses by adjusting treatment to find the correct path. Additionally, I am scheduling weekly appointments with my psychiatrist in order to alleviate the daily struggle I face concerning my mental illnesses. By taking these steps, I am hoping to have more success in my future studies in a program I feel I belong in. I would like to thank you for your consideration in this appeal.
Sincerely,
Kyrin Boudreau