{"version":"1.0","provider_name":"The News Journal","provider_url":"https:\/\/qa.thenewsjournal.net","title":"Canada-Wellman receives John D. Minton Award from WKU &ndash; The News Journal","type":"rich","width":600,"height":338,"html":"<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"XvOcJYprjO\"><a href=\"https:\/\/qa.thenewsjournal.net\/canada-wellman-receives-john-d-minton-award-wku\/\">Canada-Wellman receives John D. Minton Award from WKU<\/a><\/blockquote><iframe sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" src=\"https:\/\/qa.thenewsjournal.net\/canada-wellman-receives-john-d-minton-award-wku\/embed\/#?secret=XvOcJYprjO\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\" title=\"&#8220;Canada-Wellman receives John D. Minton Award from WKU&#8221; &#8212; The News Journal\" data-secret=\"XvOcJYprjO\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" class=\"wp-embedded-content\"><\/iframe><script type=\"text\/javascript\">\n\/* <![CDATA[ *\/\n\/*! This file is auto-generated *\/\n!function(d,l){\"use strict\";l.querySelector&&d.addEventListener&&\"undefined\"!=typeof URL&&(d.wp=d.wp||{},d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage||(d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage=function(e){var t=e.data;if((t||t.secret||t.message||t.value)&&!\/[^a-zA-Z0-9]\/.test(t.secret)){for(var s,r,n,a=l.querySelectorAll('iframe[data-secret=\"'+t.secret+'\"]'),o=l.querySelectorAll('blockquote[data-secret=\"'+t.secret+'\"]'),c=new RegExp(\"^https?:$\",\"i\"),i=0;i<o.length;i++)o[i].style.display=\"none\";for(i=0;i<a.length;i++)s=a[i],e.source===s.contentWindow&&(s.removeAttribute(\"style\"),\"height\"===t.message?(1e3<(r=parseInt(t.value,10))?r=1e3:~~r<200&&(r=200),s.height=r):\"link\"===t.message&&(r=new URL(s.getAttribute(\"src\")),n=new URL(t.value),c.test(n.protocol))&&n.host===r.host&&l.activeElement===s&&(d.top.location.href=t.value))}},d.addEventListener(\"message\",d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage,!1),l.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\",function(){for(var e,t,s=l.querySelectorAll(\"iframe.wp-embedded-content\"),r=0;r<s.length;r++)(t=(e=s[r]).getAttribute(\"data-secret\"))||(t=Math.random().toString(36).substring(2,12),e.src+=\"#?secret=\"+t,e.setAttribute(\"data-secret\",t)),e.contentWindow.postMessage({message:\"ready\",secret:t},\"*\")},!1)))}(window,document);\n\/* ]]> *\/\n<\/script>\n","thumbnail_url":"https:\/\/qa.thenewsjournal.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/W-2017.05.02_-jessica-canada-_lemon-44.gif","thumbnail_width":288,"thumbnail_height":432,"description":"Jessica Canada Wellman always wanted to do well in school while growing up in Williamsburg, but the past two years at WKU may have exceeded her own expectations. Wellman, a 2012 graduate of Whitley County High School, was honored last May as WKU\u2019s Ogden Foundation Scholar, the top undergraduate academic award. On May 12, she received the John D. Minton Award, The Graduate School\u2019s top award. \u201cI didn\u2019t set out initially to get these types of awards. I didn\u2019t even know they existed,\u201d said Wellman, the daughter of Kimberly and Gary Canada. \u201cHad anyone told me coming in that this would happen I never would have believed them.\u201d The first-generation college student might not have believed she would have ended up at WKU, either. But during an Admissions open house event on campus, she learned about study abroad opportunities offered at WKU, including Semester at Sea. \u201cI was really into the idea of study abroad,\u201d she said. \u201cI had never been on a plane before, been out of the country. Still I\u2019ve been to more countries now than I have states because of WKU and all the opportunities they offer to study abroad.\u201d She participated in the Semester at Sea program during fall 2013 and faculty-led programs to South Africa in January 2016 and Costa Rica in March 2017. Friday\u2019s ceremony caps a busy year for Wellman. A graduate of the Mahurin Honors College at WKU, she received concurrent bachelor\u2019s degrees in Management and Economics in May 2016 and is receiving her master\u2019s degree in Applied Economics this week. She also married Gregory Wellman last June, moved to Nashville, TN, and has commuted to WKU for classes and a graduate assistantship in the Department of Economics. The next year, however, may be just as busy for Wellman. After being awarded a Fulbright Scholar Research Grant, she will be spending the 2017-18 academic year in South Africa studying how land grants are used for poverty alleviation. When she and her husband return from Johannesburg, they will be moving to the University of Virginia where she will pursue her doctorate in economics. As an undergraduate, Wellman also received several academic awards and scholarships, made presentations at research conferences, was a member of several organizations and honor societies and completed an internship in global labor relations at Caterpillar Inc.\u2019s corporate headquarters. She was a co-founder of The $100 Solution House and serves on The $100 Solution Executive Board of Directors. \u201cI feel very humbled that I get this experience and recognition because I worked really hard and a lot of people work really hard and never get this type of recognition,\u201d she said. Wellman\u2019s long-range goal is to teach on Semester at Sea. \u201cI think that\u2019s really what sparked it for me and when I really started caring about things outside my immediate proximity,\u201d she said of her voyage around the world. \u201cThat\u2019s where the world opened up for me.\u201d"}