Warren St. John, author of “Outcasts United,” spoke to Baker students and faculty Monday in Rice Auditorium.

“What happened in Clarkston is a sped-up version of the change that the world is going through,” St. John said.

St. John first found about Clarkston, Ga., while on tour for his previous book. As immigrants relocated, the town went from a predominantly Caucasian to one that had over 50 nationalities.

St. John moved to Atlanta to do more research on Clarkston, which is where he met Luma, the coach for a male soccer team compromised only of refugee kids. She is an immigrant from Jordan and is the lead character in “Outcasts United.”

“I couldn’t believe that something as mundane as soccer, a game that kids play, could have such importance,” St. John said.

Student and faculty response to his speech was positive.

“He didn’t talk down to the young audience,” Associate Professor of Music Robin Liston said. “The second thing I admired was the invitation for all of us to look at America in a new way. He never felt preachy or self-righteous to me.”

Freshman Nicholas Castillo enjoyed the book and said he could connect with it. Castillo came to Baker from Arlington, Texas.

“Arlington was exactly like Clarkston,” Castillo said. “We had a lot of immigrants. There was no majority race. It was easy for me to relate to it.”

St. John said that people too often avoid the valuable lessons they can learn from others.

“People retreat to the familiar, where they feel safe,” St. John said. “When you give in to that, you miss what’s really extraordinary about being with people, getting to learn what they know.”