Teenager Making A Difference In The Fight Against Poverty
Frustrated by the poverty and homelessness endured by some of his friends in Miami Gardens, Marquis Viel was determined to make a difference in his community.
Last year, the teenager and seven of his classmates at Miami Norland Senior High School attempted to tackle the issue through the Progressors Over Poverty Project.
The initiative won the ASPEN Challenge Miami, a 10-week competition that gives students a platform to solve societal issues such as poverty and climate change. Participants are offered financial literacy lessons that teach them budgeting, credit management and how to open a bank account.
The project motivated the Miami-Dade County School Board to pass an item last October advocating for financial literacy funding.
“[Progressors Over Poverty] focuses on connecting people with resources,” Viel said.
Helping others has always been Viel’s nature.
While serving as vice-president of the Norland Key Club, he participated in neighborhood cleanups, food distribution and collection drives.
“[Marquis] never makes an excuse,” said Precious Symonette, a writing teacher at Miami Norland Senior High who advised Viel’s team during the ASPEN Challenge. “He’s always willing to help others.”
His efforts earned him a Silver Knight nomination and a $4,000 scholarship from The Links, a non-profit organization advocating for the advancement of the Black community.
In April, Viel, who took dual-enrollment classes, earned an associate’s degree in accounting from North Campus. Two months later, he graduated as class valedictorian from Norland with a 5.1 weighted GPA.
“He’s very independent and motivated to achieve anything he sets his heart and mind to accomplish,” said Marquis’ mom, Jeanette Viel.
Next month, the 18-year-old will transfer to the University of Florida. He hopes to earn his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in accounting.
Viel dedicates his free time to creating art.
In 2021, Viel was one of 50 students state-wide featured in the Poetry Out Loud anthology and he participated in the Louder Than A Bomb slam poetry competition.
He is currently writing poetry for the anthology, More Than What Happened: The Aftermath of Gun Violence in Miami and a book about his life experiences in South Florida sponsored by Apple Creative Studios.
Both works will be featured at the Miami Book Fair in November.
At the 2021 and 2022 Scholastic Art & Writing Awards, Viel won two Silver Key awards and three honorable mentions for his watercolor, digital art and poetry.
His portraits challenge the patriarchal ideology that men shouldn’t show emotion. One of his pieces, “Psychedelic Blue Sadness,” was featured in last year’s Watercolor Student Show hosted by the Miami Watercolor Society.
“It’s an escape zone for me,” Viel said. “I can immerse myself into the arts.”
In the future, Viel hopes to get a CPA license and become a public accountant for one of the big four accounting firms—Deloitte, Ernst & Young, PricewaterhouseCoopers, and Klynveld Peat Marwick Goerdeler. He eventually wants to create his own firm.
“Oftentimes, students learn from you, but I think in many instances I’ve learned so much from Marquis,” said Ronald Redman, the principal at Miami Norland when Viel attended the high school. “He’s going to make a tremendous impact in our society.”
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