Petition Letter
Dear Associate Dean of The Faculty of Arts and Science,
The request: I am appealing the following marks in hopes of gaining credit standing:
- Winter 2017
o Spanish 111
- Winter 2018
o BIOL 102
o HIST 252
- Summer 2018
o BIOL 103
o CHEM 113
- Winter 2019
o DEVS 392 Studies I Dilemmas in the Middle East
o ENGL 100
Explanation of Extenuating Circumstances:
After my first year, I took two years off due to a lack of direction and issues pertaining to family and expectations. I decided to come back to Queen's and finish my degree in Global Development. Upon my arrival, I decided it would be wise to seek counselling at Queens. To ease back into courses in the winter of 2017, I enrolled in SPAN 111, I did not do as well as I had hoped, and this was due to a high level of anxiety that I had been experiencing for a few years. I did not know how to address it as in my family, mental health is still very much stigmatized. This is why I had waited till I arrived back at Queen's to look into it more and come up with a solution.
Through 2017 to present, I have sought counselling on and off at LaSalle but have found it hard to make regular appointments due to the high number of students seeking help. I would go weeks without an appointment, I do not have insurance outside of Queen's and as my family is unaware of my mental health situation, I found it difficult to seek counselling outside of Queen's due it its high costs. The counsellors at Queen's had sent me to see a doctor at LaSalle twice during this period of time to see if I needed any medication and they recommended that I should continue counselling but that I did not need medication.
In 2018, I excelled in some courses and faltered in others, BIOL 102, HIST 252, BIOL 103, and CHEM 113 were of the courses that I did particularly poor in. I attribute my poor performances in some and good performances in others to my inability to handle the course load because of the anxiety I was feeling. In the fall of 2018, I failed ANAT 100 but have decided to retake the course in hopes of an improved mark. I found that with my anxiety I would get overwhelmed and it became increasingly difficult to meet deadlines.
In 2019, I continued to look for ways to handle my anxiety and went to a few counselling sessions but since they were few and far between, I found that they were not making a significant impact. In the winter term of 2019, I did poorly in two courses, DEVS 392 Studies I Dilemmas in the Middle East and ENGL 100. Closer to the end of the semester (February- April) my grandfather who lives in California became very ill, as he had been struggling with Parkinson's for many years. Due to his quick deterioration, my mother had recommended to me that I go out to California to say goodbye, which was at the end of March, continuing to early April. I requested a doctor's note and had received extensions on some of my assignments. He passed away April 19th. Due to the stress and grief, I do not believe I performed as well as I could have. His funeral was not until July.
Fortunately, over the summer, I spoke to my hometown doctor (Dr. Pajot) and she thought it would be a good idea to start me on some anti-anxiety medication. Since then, I feel significantly more productive and so far, I have found that my anxiety is almost completely gone. I can see that my productivity and ability to perform well in my academics has improved already, and I am confident that I can now properly study, improve my grade point average, and continue to be successful in the future.
My reasoning for delaying this request for appeal is because I was uneducated on the process and requirements. Furthermore, because of what I was dealing with I found it difficult to reach out to the university for help, however I have now decided that this is the best course of action for my future.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
Sincerely,
Kayleigh Ng Cheng Hin
The request: I am appealing the following marks in hopes of gaining credit standing:
- Winter 2017
o Spanish 111
- Winter 2018
o BIOL 102
o HIST 252
- Summer 2018
o BIOL 103
o CHEM 113
- Winter 2019
o DEVS 392 Studies I Dilemmas in the Middle East
o ENGL 100
Explanation of Extenuating Circumstances:
After my first year, I took two years off due to a lack of direction and issues pertaining to family and expectations. I decided to come back to Queen's and finish my degree in Global Development. Upon my arrival, I decided it would be wise to seek counselling at Queens. To ease back into courses in the winter of 2017, I enrolled in SPAN 111, I did not do as well as I had hoped, and this was due to a high level of anxiety that I had been experiencing for a few years. I did not know how to address it as in my family, mental health is still very much stigmatized. This is why I had waited till I arrived back at Queen's to look into it more and come up with a solution.
Through 2017 to present, I have sought counselling on and off at LaSalle but have found it hard to make regular appointments due to the high number of students seeking help. I would go weeks without an appointment, I do not have insurance outside of Queen's and as my family is unaware of my mental health situation, I found it difficult to seek counselling outside of Queen's due it its high costs. The counsellors at Queen's had sent me to see a doctor at LaSalle twice during this period of time to see if I needed any medication and they recommended that I should continue counselling but that I did not need medication.
In 2018, I excelled in some courses and faltered in others, BIOL 102, HIST 252, BIOL 103, and CHEM 113 were of the courses that I did particularly poor in. I attribute my poor performances in some and good performances in others to my inability to handle the course load because of the anxiety I was feeling. In the fall of 2018, I failed ANAT 100 but have decided to retake the course in hopes of an improved mark. I found that with my anxiety I would get overwhelmed and it became increasingly difficult to meet deadlines.
In 2019, I continued to look for ways to handle my anxiety and went to a few counselling sessions but since they were few and far between, I found that they were not making a significant impact. In the winter term of 2019, I did poorly in two courses, DEVS 392 Studies I Dilemmas in the Middle East and ENGL 100. Closer to the end of the semester (February- April) my grandfather who lives in California became very ill, as he had been struggling with Parkinson's for many years. Due to his quick deterioration, my mother had recommended to me that I go out to California to say goodbye, which was at the end of March, continuing to early April. I requested a doctor's note and had received extensions on some of my assignments. He passed away April 19th. Due to the stress and grief, I do not believe I performed as well as I could have. His funeral was not until July.
Fortunately, over the summer, I spoke to my hometown doctor (Dr. Pajot) and she thought it would be a good idea to start me on some anti-anxiety medication. Since then, I feel significantly more productive and so far, I have found that my anxiety is almost completely gone. I can see that my productivity and ability to perform well in my academics has improved already, and I am confident that I can now properly study, improve my grade point average, and continue to be successful in the future.
My reasoning for delaying this request for appeal is because I was uneducated on the process and requirements. Furthermore, because of what I was dealing with I found it difficult to reach out to the university for help, however I have now decided that this is the best course of action for my future.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
Sincerely,
Kayleigh Ng Cheng Hin