A summer spent interning with the Family Court Division of the Miami-Dade County Clerk's Office convinced third-year law student, Erik Kardazke, that family law is the field for him. Erik worked at the Self Help Desk for the Family Court where he answered questions on domestic relation matters, such as dissolution of marriage and child custody, and provided assistance drafting petitions, filling out forms, and filing motions. "Family law has everything I like. It's full of drama. There's sex, betrayal, emotion, and conflict. It's never a dull day. Law is also one of the few professions left where a person can be self-employed, which is ultimately my goal."

Like many students at the School of Law, Erik is a polyglot. He is proficient in French, German, Russian, and Spanish. As a result of studying abroad in Russia in 1991 and 1995, Russian is strongest foreign language. He also speaks basic Swedish and Portuguese. During his second and third year at UM Law, Erik has taken advantage of the upper-level classes offered in Spanish. He has taken three courses so far and he says that the courses allowed him to take on a larger role at the Family Court this past summer where he was responsible for counseling non-English speakers.

Erik earned his bachelor's from Wichita State University in 1990. In 1992, after he received his MBA in international business from Thunderbird, Erik moved to Miami where he worked in managed care for six years. From 1998 until he started law school in 2002, he worked in consulting.

Erik says that while law school has been demanding, he did not feel that he had to sacrifice time with his five-year old daughter, Skyler. "She is just like her father except politically she's my opposite. She's voting for George W. Bush and when she gets tired of listening to my ranting she says stuff like 'oh daddy, you're such a democrat.'"