Petition Letter
Dear Associate Dean,
I am writing to appeal my requirement to withdraw from the Faculty of Arts and Sciences for one year. I am requesting reinstatement for the upcoming year. I appreciate the opportunity to explain my predicament.
I admit that my first year at Queens was really difficult, and as a result, my grades deteriorated greatly. As someone who enjoys learning and thrives on academic affirmation, I refuse to make excuses for my low academic achievement this year. Instead, I seek to understand where I went wrong and what I could have done better. Before I get into the details of my reconsideration request, I'd like to acknowledge and accept responsibility for where I went wrong. My best friend was hospitalized and placed in a medically-induced coma on September 25th, 2021. My entire life seemed to turn upside down after that. I slipped into a deep pit of anxiety and depression, which was unusual for me. For months, I struggled to leave my dorm room; I hardly slept or ate. Finally, it got to the point where my friends started bringing food to my door to ensure I had something to eat that day. I couldn't even recognize myself; everything I loved or enjoyed had lost meaning. I felt so alone and ashamed that I gave up. I couldn't express how I felt to anyone because I couldn't explain it to myself. I had lost all motivation to work, care for myself, try new things, and ask for help. I was terrified. To tell anyone, I was struggling and to demonstrate my weakness, I accepted defeat in myself since I didn't believe I was worthy of improvement. Looking back, the most essential thing I learned this year was that I am worthy and deserve better. For the past two months, I've been seeing a therapist to work on healing, and for the first time in months, I'm slowly beginning to feel like myself again. I see now that instead of ignoring my professors, I should have engaged with them better or taken a leave of absence. I felt I could handle all of my responsibilities, but I couldn't. I battled a lot, and I now see I should have sought help sooner. I don't deserve a second chance because I see everything I could have done differently. I let my trauma and difficulties define who I was and what I was capable of. I now know that I am capable of overcoming any obstacles that may arise, and I would greatly appreciate a second opportunity to Redo the first year and show to myself that what I went through has no bearing on the person I am and aspire to be. I want to work harder next year, continue my studies in Queens, and be an influence or role model to others who are struggling and don't feel worthy or good enough. Since my return from Queens, I've been focusing on building an academic plan and identifying how I can perform better to prevent this from happening again. My parents and I discuss biweekly tutoring sessions to ensure that I stay on top of my work and don't fall behind, as well as weekly counseling sessions to prevent relapse and falling back into a negative place. To stay on track, I want to initiate more conversations with my instructors and TAs.
I love Queens University. My brother graduated in 2019, and it would mean the world to me to achieve the same accomplishment. The last thing I intend to do is make excuses; I accept full responsibility for allowing myself to reach this position and recognize that I could have done things differently. I hope you can see that my low-grade point average does not reflect that I am a poor student. I had a challenging year, and I let my hardships interfere with my academic performance. I would appreciate a second opportunity because I want to learn from this error and emerge stronger. I hope that you will give me another chance. I appreciate your consideration of my appeal.
Yours truly,
Rachel Ferguson-Wuls
I am writing to appeal my requirement to withdraw from the Faculty of Arts and Sciences for one year. I am requesting reinstatement for the upcoming year. I appreciate the opportunity to explain my predicament.
I admit that my first year at Queens was really difficult, and as a result, my grades deteriorated greatly. As someone who enjoys learning and thrives on academic affirmation, I refuse to make excuses for my low academic achievement this year. Instead, I seek to understand where I went wrong and what I could have done better. Before I get into the details of my reconsideration request, I'd like to acknowledge and accept responsibility for where I went wrong. My best friend was hospitalized and placed in a medically-induced coma on September 25th, 2021. My entire life seemed to turn upside down after that. I slipped into a deep pit of anxiety and depression, which was unusual for me. For months, I struggled to leave my dorm room; I hardly slept or ate. Finally, it got to the point where my friends started bringing food to my door to ensure I had something to eat that day. I couldn't even recognize myself; everything I loved or enjoyed had lost meaning. I felt so alone and ashamed that I gave up. I couldn't express how I felt to anyone because I couldn't explain it to myself. I had lost all motivation to work, care for myself, try new things, and ask for help. I was terrified. To tell anyone, I was struggling and to demonstrate my weakness, I accepted defeat in myself since I didn't believe I was worthy of improvement. Looking back, the most essential thing I learned this year was that I am worthy and deserve better. For the past two months, I've been seeing a therapist to work on healing, and for the first time in months, I'm slowly beginning to feel like myself again. I see now that instead of ignoring my professors, I should have engaged with them better or taken a leave of absence. I felt I could handle all of my responsibilities, but I couldn't. I battled a lot, and I now see I should have sought help sooner. I don't deserve a second chance because I see everything I could have done differently. I let my trauma and difficulties define who I was and what I was capable of. I now know that I am capable of overcoming any obstacles that may arise, and I would greatly appreciate a second opportunity to Redo the first year and show to myself that what I went through has no bearing on the person I am and aspire to be. I want to work harder next year, continue my studies in Queens, and be an influence or role model to others who are struggling and don't feel worthy or good enough. Since my return from Queens, I've been focusing on building an academic plan and identifying how I can perform better to prevent this from happening again. My parents and I discuss biweekly tutoring sessions to ensure that I stay on top of my work and don't fall behind, as well as weekly counseling sessions to prevent relapse and falling back into a negative place. To stay on track, I want to initiate more conversations with my instructors and TAs.
I love Queens University. My brother graduated in 2019, and it would mean the world to me to achieve the same accomplishment. The last thing I intend to do is make excuses; I accept full responsibility for allowing myself to reach this position and recognize that I could have done things differently. I hope you can see that my low-grade point average does not reflect that I am a poor student. I had a challenging year, and I let my hardships interfere with my academic performance. I would appreciate a second opportunity because I want to learn from this error and emerge stronger. I hope that you will give me another chance. I appreciate your consideration of my appeal.
Yours truly,
Rachel Ferguson-Wuls