An ISU student who drowned last weekend is remembered by friends and family as a happy, outgoing man willing to do anything to help a friend.

Todd Pontier, 20, would have been a junior in agronomy this fall. Pontier, of Osceola, was camping with friends from his hometown at a site near Leon last weekend. On Sunday, the boat he was fishing in capsized, drowning him and another man, Brad Phillips, 18, also of Osceola.

“He was such a unique guy. He could always put a smile on somebody’s face because of his attitude on life,” said his friend Ryan Hall, senior in finance. “He lived life to the fullest.”

Pontier was universally described by friends as an upbeat extrovert whose mood was often contagious.

“Todd was one of the type of guys, with whatever he said, if I said it, wouldn’t sound funny, but Todd could make it funny,” Hall said.

Carolyn Sewell, senior in political science, said Pontier would often stick his neck out in a situation if he thought he could help.

“Sometimes my boyfriend and I would get in a fight, and he would just call me up and make it better,” she said. “He would make us both laugh and make us realize we cared about each other.”

Pontier’s mother, Marcia Pontier, echoed his friends’ praise.

“Todd was just one of the best, good hearted people there could be,” she said.

Todd’s girlfriend, Sarah Johnk, a student at Western Iowa Tech Community College in Sioux City, also described him as a happy, positive person, willing to go out on a limb for others. She met him after she traveled to Ames with her friend and stayed in Todd’s room because he was out of town. Her friend was the girlfriend of Todd’s roommate, Josh Schumacher.A few days later, although they never met, Todd called her, leading to a three-hour long conversation.

“Then we met a month later. It was perfect,” Johnk said. “We talked for months, for hours and hours.”

Marcia said her son was a hard worker and had agreed to return to a job at the ISU Seed Science Center after his employers insisted he return.

“They really wanted him to come back,” she said.

Marcia said Todd, who grew up on a farm, went into agronomy with the eventual goal of running a co-op.

“That’s what he wanted to do, be able to help the farmers and work with farmers,” she said.

She said Todd had gotten involved with the ISU Mini-Baja Team, thanks to the influence of Schumacher, sophomore in industrial technology.

“He coordinated one of our fundraising events and also worked in our Mini-Baja club,” said former club president Cody Johnson. “An interest in cars and automotive and working with his hands and tools, that’s how I knew Todd.”

Johnson said Pontier hadn’t been able to make it to the team’s competition, although he worked hard on the car.

“He’d go to every meeting on Tuesday. He’d be in the shop every weekend,” Schumacher said.

Hall said Pontier often talked about his parents, Marcia and Arthur Pontier, and his brothers, Ryan, 25, an ISU graduate, and Chad, 23, an electrician. He said Marcia often would freeze food for Todd, who would get ribbed by his friends for it.

“We’d always give him crap,” Hall said. “He’d have that, and he’d warm it up.”

Johnk said she’ll always remember Todd.

“I loved him to death and he had a great personality,” she said. “It was fun while it lasted.”

A memorial service is scheduled from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Kale Funeral Home in Osceola.