Twenty years ago, Dana Canedy walked on UK’s campus as a journalism student. Now, she’s the senior editor of The New York Times.

“All I had was a dream, a good education … It turns out, it was good enough,” Canedy said.

The UK alumna was invited to campus to give a lecture entitled “I Alone Can’t Teach Him to be a Man,” which focuses on Canedy’s book, “A Journal for Jordan.”  The book features a series of letters she wrote to her son, Jordan, describing the father he’ll never know.

US Army First Sgt. Charles Monroe King, Canedy’s fiancé, was killed in a roadside bombing while serving in Iraq in October 2006.  Before he died — a month before he was scheduled to return home — King wrote a 200-page journal to Jordan that gave life advice in case his son had to grow up without a father.

Canedy wrote the book, which includes excerpts from King’s journal, to provide an outlet for her grief.

“I couldn’t just bury him and go back to work,” she said Tuesday night in Memorial Hall.  “I had to do something productive with my grief … the only thing I could do was write.”

The book was released in 2008, and has since received an overwhelming amount of responses.  However, even with the eight-week book tour and a possible movie featuring Denzel Washington in the works, Canedy’s reaction is unlike most of her readers.

“I’m proud, but not excited … I would trade all of that to have Charles back,” Canedy said.

The UK Alumni Association, the Martin Luther King Jr. Cultural Center and UK’s School of Journalism and Telecommunications hosted the lecture.

Canedy spoke about King’s advice to Jordan, how she still deals with her fiancé’s death, and the book tour.  Canedy also urged UK students to work hard for their dreams.

“Go for it,” Canedy said.  “If you have a dream, perseverance and hard work … that’s what it takes.”

While a student at UK, Canedy worked at the former Office of Minority Student Affairs.  Chester Grundy, interim director of the Martin Luther King Jr. Cultural Center, said Canedy wasn’t a stellar student.

“She was typical … she didn’t have a 4.0,” Grundy said.  “But she was focused, committed, and worked hard.

“She didn’t let anybody step on her dream.”