I’ll admit it–I’m obsessed with Ted Kennedy. His life, his celebrity, his family all fascinate me.

My obsession started during the fall of my junior year at BU. As a lifetime New Englander, I had, of course, known who Senator Kennedy was. But only once I started interning in his Boston office in the fall of 2007 did I begin to understand how much he has accomplished for the people of Massachusetts.

Everyone needs a hero, someone to emulate. Besides Jack Bauer, there’s no one better to look up to than Ted Kennedy.

Yes, I know about his baggage. In fact, I was in Chappaquiddick last November and took pictures of the bridge he drove off. He’s not perfect. As far as I’m concerned, he’s more than made up for his downfalls.

When Kennedy was young, his father told him–as well as his bros John and Bobby–not to worry about earning money and instead focus on giving back to other people. His father set up a 1 million dollar trust fund for each of them, so, clearly, money was never an issue for the closest America gets to a royal family.

Ted Kennedy’s lifelong dedication to public service often makes me think about starting a career in public service myself after graduating in fewer than three months. The idea sounds fulfilling and completely worth pursuing. Yet I constantly think about how I can possibly accomplish this. The practical interferes with the ideal.

Successfully running for office requires three things: money, education, and connections. Kennedy had two of the three from the day he was born, and because of both he received the best education available (undergrad at Harvard, law degree from Virginia).

I, like many of you, will graduate with none of these. To be sure, we will have a start on the education part. But the majority of elected officials–in the U.S. Senate it’s 56 percent–hold a law degree. This is attainable too, but then the money category takes a hit. And while connections can be made, making inroads in this department often depend on sheer luck, no matter how good at networking you are.

No matter what your situation, everyone starting a new job ought to think about what they will really achieve. Those who work in government sacrifice higher salaries in the private sector because they usually believe in serving the people. U.S. Senators earn fewer than $200,000 a year when they could be earning triple that running their own firms. In 2009, the utility infielder for the Boston Red Sox will take home a larger salary than President Obama.

Elsewhere, healthcare workers can feel good about the work they do everyday. Even lawyers, from time to time, are fulfilled when they assure justice for their clients. Professors and teachers go home with their heads held high knowing they made an influence in a student’s life that will last forever. Who doesn’t remember their third grade teacher? For better, or worse.

Other professions serve nothing but the bottom line and have little redeeming social value that the individual employee can clearly identify at the end of the day. While taking a course in the School of Management last year, I quickly realized that most people there primarily care about making as much money as possible, other values be damned. (I know I’m generalizing here, but when SMG students wear shirts saying “sex, money, greed: any questions?” it’s easy to pick up on a code of values.)

Even in COM, if I’m going into advertising, do I feel good about myself at the end of the day because I helped some random company sell some random product that may or may not be necessary?

In the sports industry, what’s the social value in helping an organization win a championship? Sure, a Celtics playoff run provides a nice distraction for the city of Boston and makes us happy. But it also depresses people in Los Angeles when the Lakers lose to Boston in the NBA Finals. What about the people in Charlotte? The Bobcats? They may as well stay in bed. If I’m a utilitarian, then Boston, New York, Chicago or LA should win in every sport every year.

My point is that sports is a great distraction, and I’m as guilty as anyone for getting caught up in it. Every time. But for a career? I have some trouble resting assured that I’m contributing in a meaningful way.

Kennedy’s parents would not allow him or his siblings to become “rich, idle bums.” While none of us have a trust fund worth a million bucks and a father who tells us to forget about earning money and “devote our lives” to giving back to the people, what would you do if you did?

Even Jack Bauer can feel good about his work at the end of the day.