George, Amal Clooney Sponsor U Of C Student From Iraq

CHICAGO, IL — In its first two months airing, David Letterman's new Netflix one-on-one interview series, "My Next Guest Needs No Introduction, has been a showcase for Chicago connections. Former President Barack Obama was Letterman's first guest when the show debuted in January, and the series' second episode with George Clooney features a University of Chicago student from Iraq who is sponsored by the actor and his wife, Amal, a human rights lawyer.

Hazim Avdal, 23, is a computer science student who began studying at the university this school year after he was accepted in May, according to the Chicago Tribune. When he graduated high school in 2013 in northern Iraq, Avdal had the seventh-highest score on that country's standardized exam for seniors, the report stated. But the self-taught computer programmer couldn't attend the University of Mosul because of attacks by ISIS and al-Qaeda on members of the Yazidi religious minority of which Avdal belongs, the report added.

As the genocide escalated in Avdal's home region, his family fled to a refugee camp in Turkey, the report stated. His mother now lives in Germany, the report added.

Avdal created a software database for a group aiding the Yazidi community following the attacks, and he met Amal Clooney through that organization, the report stated. She told Letterman she was struck by his courage, and the Clooneys worked with Matthew Barber, a U of C doctoral student, to get him to the country and the university, the report added.

Although he lives in the dorms while classes are in session, Avdal spends breaks at the Clooneys' home near the actor's parents in Kentucky. He told the Tribune that despite the episode he appears in debuting Friday, Feb. 9, he still hasn't had time to watch it.

Go to Netflix to watch George Clooney's episode interview.

More via the Chicago Tribune

Amal and George Clooney (Photo by Jordan Strauss | Invision | AP)