Petition Letter
Greetings Associate Dean of Arts and Science,
My name is Kyle Semple and I am currently entering my fourth year at Queen¿¿s, studying Geography under the Arts and Science faculty. The purpose of this appeal letter is to request a late drop for the course GPHY 247 (Intro to Statistics) and GPHY 102 (Intro to Physical Geography). I am requesting this because of renewed struggles with my mental health during the Fall 2018 and Winter 2019 semesters greatly affected my ability to complete my work or to do my best. This was exacerbated by money issues, struggles with my academics, roommate issues in my living situation and uncertainty regarding which country I will live in. In order to address these issues, I have been working closely with my counsellor, academic advisors, my family and Tess Grant to formulate plans to address these issues.
I have been working to find the most appropriate way to address each issue, and some have already or are in the process of being resolved. Regarding my living situation and roommate issues, my returning housemates and I were under serious pressure from our landlord to finalize details with the lease, which involved finding new tenants to replace our problematic roommates. The fear of not having a place to live or money to pay for a new place was very impactful on my academics and mental health. The paperwork regarding my citizenship in America is currently being processed, which will be a very positive contribution to the uncertainty regarding the country I am to live in. One of the main reasons for relocating are my money issues. The financial security of my family has been placed in jeopardy, which makes it difficult to eat properly, visit home, purchase necessary resources, pay bills and expenses, and pay school fees. My previous budgeting plan has since needed to be altered significantly, and my job does not provide enough income. My financial issues contributed greatly to my mental health struggles, as it would trigger and amplify my anxiety, which would then hinder my academics. My depression would cause me to miss class, not participate in class discussions, hand in coursework late, and struggle with studying. Since these are all tasks I am capable of doing when in the correct state of mind, Tess and my counsellors have recommended a reduced course load, and increased focus on workload management. The instability of my mental health led to me missing days at work, which affected many other areas of my life.
Introduction to Statistics and Intro to Physical Geography both call upon skillsets I am not familiar with, and I encountered significant difficulty during the year. The added strain from the aforementioned issues amplified their respective difficulties tenfold. After speaking with academic advisors I learned that because of my course selection, I was not required to take Introduction to Statistics in the first place. I didn¿¿t drop the course by the drop deadline because my progress had not yet reached that point. The deterioration of my mental health caused me to miss major assignments and tests that happened after the deadline, and my professors were unwilling to accommodate when I missed work. I have been working with Tess Grant to mitigate the impact on my academics that these two classes have had. Despite her assistance, I was unable to overcome these issues and perform in GPHY 102. Revised strategies for tackling academic struggles, a lesser course load, and increased extra-curricular involvement will help me overcome my problems in the next year. This is supported by my performance in the classes with material more closely aligned with the arts, as opposed to the sciences.
Regards,
Kyle Semple
My name is Kyle Semple and I am currently entering my fourth year at Queen¿¿s, studying Geography under the Arts and Science faculty. The purpose of this appeal letter is to request a late drop for the course GPHY 247 (Intro to Statistics) and GPHY 102 (Intro to Physical Geography). I am requesting this because of renewed struggles with my mental health during the Fall 2018 and Winter 2019 semesters greatly affected my ability to complete my work or to do my best. This was exacerbated by money issues, struggles with my academics, roommate issues in my living situation and uncertainty regarding which country I will live in. In order to address these issues, I have been working closely with my counsellor, academic advisors, my family and Tess Grant to formulate plans to address these issues.
I have been working to find the most appropriate way to address each issue, and some have already or are in the process of being resolved. Regarding my living situation and roommate issues, my returning housemates and I were under serious pressure from our landlord to finalize details with the lease, which involved finding new tenants to replace our problematic roommates. The fear of not having a place to live or money to pay for a new place was very impactful on my academics and mental health. The paperwork regarding my citizenship in America is currently being processed, which will be a very positive contribution to the uncertainty regarding the country I am to live in. One of the main reasons for relocating are my money issues. The financial security of my family has been placed in jeopardy, which makes it difficult to eat properly, visit home, purchase necessary resources, pay bills and expenses, and pay school fees. My previous budgeting plan has since needed to be altered significantly, and my job does not provide enough income. My financial issues contributed greatly to my mental health struggles, as it would trigger and amplify my anxiety, which would then hinder my academics. My depression would cause me to miss class, not participate in class discussions, hand in coursework late, and struggle with studying. Since these are all tasks I am capable of doing when in the correct state of mind, Tess and my counsellors have recommended a reduced course load, and increased focus on workload management. The instability of my mental health led to me missing days at work, which affected many other areas of my life.
Introduction to Statistics and Intro to Physical Geography both call upon skillsets I am not familiar with, and I encountered significant difficulty during the year. The added strain from the aforementioned issues amplified their respective difficulties tenfold. After speaking with academic advisors I learned that because of my course selection, I was not required to take Introduction to Statistics in the first place. I didn¿¿t drop the course by the drop deadline because my progress had not yet reached that point. The deterioration of my mental health caused me to miss major assignments and tests that happened after the deadline, and my professors were unwilling to accommodate when I missed work. I have been working with Tess Grant to mitigate the impact on my academics that these two classes have had. Despite her assistance, I was unable to overcome these issues and perform in GPHY 102. Revised strategies for tackling academic struggles, a lesser course load, and increased extra-curricular involvement will help me overcome my problems in the next year. This is supported by my performance in the classes with material more closely aligned with the arts, as opposed to the sciences.
Regards,
Kyle Semple