Eckerd College Organization of Students Vice President for Financial Affairs Izzy Williams ’27 holds her pet bearded dragon, Eckerd College’s new ‘pet president’. Photo courtesy of Izzy Wild Merl ’28
In a campus election that captured the attention of 500 students across Eckerd College, a new leader has been elected. Scooter JonQuantavius III, a bearded dragon known for basking in the Florida sun and charming students at campus events, has been elected the college’s new ”pet president.
Scooter’s campaign was led by his owner, Izzy Williams, who said the idea behind his run was to bring pets together across campus regardless of species.
“Scooter, as a cold-blooded animal on campus, really feels the divide between warm-blooded and cold-blooded pets,” Izzy says jokingly. “He thought it was a good idea to rise to the occasion and unify all pets.”
Izzy, a business administration student from Jacksonville, Florida, managed Scooter’s campaign and currently serves as Eckerd College Organization of Students vice president of financial affairs. She is also running for ECOS president.
“His favorite activity is basking in the sun,” Izzy adds. “And a lot of Eckerd students also love to do that.”
The campaign season featured several pets competing for the title, including a hamster named Franklin. At the ECOS town hall, Franklin rolled across the room on a small exercise ball while the ECOS cabinets shared updates.
Scooter JonQuantavious III defeated 14 other pets with 20% of the vote in February.
“As I was reading my slides, I saw this little ball roll across the floor out of the corner of my eye,” Izzy recalls. “Everyone started giggling, and I looked over and realized it was Franklin.”
Moments like that, Izzy explains, are exactly what make this event special.
“It was certainly a silly election, but it brought people together,” she says. “Students got excited about it, they shared it with friends, and it turned into this really fun campus moment.”
Izzy hopes the pet president election will continue as a new Eckerd tradition that celebrates the college’s sense of humor and community spirit.
“I want to preserve Eckerd traditions, but first we have to define what those traditions are,” she says. “Something like this shows the kind of community we have—one that can come together, laugh a little, and enjoy being on campus.”
