Name: Tandon
Hometown: Fayetteville
Major: Business Administration with a concentration in MIS

It was due to a mixture of both choice and chance when Tandon Mardis reluctantly returned to his Fayetteville roots in the summer of 2003. Initially, the 71st High School alumnus began his college career playing football at UNC-Chapel Hill in 2001. Although he never planned for it, the former Tar Heel landed on Bronco territory after a second knee reconstructive surgery restricted him from playing sports.

Forced to meet the challenge of devising a “Plan B”, Tandon made the decision that his life story would not end with defeat. For many, this twist of fate may have been a personal setback, but for Tandon it was merely an undercover blessing that held promise for a new beginning.

“When I was at Carolina, I was just one of those athletes that didn’t take academics seriously.  I maintained my grades just enough to play, so at first I was really depressed.  Coming back home brought me back down to reality, and I knew that if I returned, I would have to succeed and refocus on academics,” Tandon shared.

During his journey at FSU, he was able to experience personal growth and create meaningful relationships with friends and faculty that would inspire him to achieve academic success.

“While in college, I was careful to take the right steps and meet the right people,” he expressed.

For instance, when MBA Professor, Dr. Assad Tavakoli invited Tandon to compete and travel with a team of graduate students enrolled in the MBA program, he did not hesitate to accept. The team participated in the Venture Challenge Business Plan Competition in Atlanta, GA. Their first place award presented them with the opportunity to compete in the Global MOOT Corp Business Plan in Austin, TX, where they received accolades for best presentation, beating thirty-three other teams that hailed from eleven different countries. Impressively, Tandon was the only undergraduate student in the group. 

Having been a part of the JR ROTC during his four years in high school, it was simply second nature when Tandon continued his membership in FSU’s Air Force ROTC program. Certainly, his dedication paid off, for on Saturday, May 12, 2007 he was commissioned as 2nd Lieutenant in the Air Force. 

Not only is Tandon honored to now possess a degree in business administration with a concentration in management information systems, but he is also proud to have earned a “pilot spot” at the Columbus Air Force Base in Mississippi, where he will spend the next eighteen months in pilot training. It is quite obvious that Tandon is a young man with several gifts, yet when asked which one is his greatest passion, without any reservations he responded quickly, “Flying!”

This revelation was slow coming in the past, but a dose of maturity and reality sharpened his vision for the future. Presently, Tandon is “flying” high with hope and believes, “I was always good at a lot of things, but never great at one.  All of my experiences at FSU just added up to be God’s plan.  Football wasn’t what He had for me, so I had to move on to something else.”

Now that he’s pressing on, Tandon is facing his years to come with fierce ambition. He says eventually he will enter into FSU’s online program to work toward his MBA, so that he will have the benefit of taking internet courses while he is out of the state. Ultimately, he plans to obtain a Ph.D. and teach at an institution of higher education.

Until then, he has his life mapped out with plans to retire in the military after he has served twenty to twenty-five years.

He advised, “When you find a job that you love, you’ll never work again in life.  Time is life’s most precious gift, so spend your college career wisely. Then once you graduate you will hopefully be in a profession that you enjoy as opposed to having a job simply for the sake of working.”

Tandon is a member of the Delta Gamma Chapter of Omega Psi Phi; during the 2006-2007 he served as president of the chapter.  He is also a member of the Order of Omega, which is a Greek honor society.

The youngest of four, Tandon is the son of Terry and Jackie Mardis.