New York City — At times, Armia Khalil felt like he was whittling his life away after he immigrated to New York from Egypt in 2006 with nothing but $400 in his pocket and a suitcase of sculpting tools.
He had studied fine art in Egypt through the generosity of a cousin, and now he sought to make his dreams come true in New York City. But that didn’t happen. Instead, he shared a bedroom with construction workers in New Jersey and struggled to find consistent work.