Cover courtesy of outcastsunited.com.

Hear the true story of how a Jordanian immigrant founded a soccer team for refugees to help them adjust to life in the United States at a talk hosted by Missouri University of Science and Technology this November.

Missouri S&T presents “An Evening With Luma Mufleh” at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 16, in Leach Theatre, located in Castleman Hall at 10th and Main streets in Rolla. The event is free and open to the public. Following the event, a meet-and-greet will be held in the Leach Theatre lobby with Mufleh.

Mufleh’s story is the main focus of the book “Outcasts United,” a non-fiction work by Warren St. John. St. John’s non-fiction book expands on his initial reporting in the “New York Times” on the story of a youth soccer team and the transformation of Clarkston, Georgia, as a refugee settlement center in the 1990s. It follows Mufleh, who founded the team to help unify the city’s numerous refugee children and to “keep them off the streets.” The book was published in 2009 by Penguin Random House.

Incoming first-year students at Missouri S&T were asked to read “Outcasts United” prior to arriving on campus as part of S&T’s One Book program. The book is taught in all sections of English 1120, the introductory composition course required for most freshmen.

“The One Book program involves the whole campus, makes our students think outside the classroom and connects an interdisciplinary audience,” says Dr. Kathryn Dolan, director of the One Book program and an assistant professor of English and technical communication at Missouri S&T. “Meeting the main character of the book in-person will give more life to our teachings and help us to reach our students at a deeper level.”

In addition to giving students a common intellectual experience, Missouri S&T’s One Book program creates opportunities for critical thinking on a topic of social relevance, while promoting the value and importance of reading beyond the classroom.

The One Book program and related events are sponsored by the undergraduate studies office and the English and technical communication department at Missouri S&T. More information is available online at onebook.mst.edu or by email at onebook@mst.edu.