Village Staff | Peer Instructors

Village Staff

Jeff Holdeman – Faculty Director
Jeff, the Director of the Global Village, has also been the Slavic Language Coordinator and Slavic Department Undergraduate Advisor since coming to IU in 2002. He grew up in Knoxville, Tennessee, where he went on to the University of Tennessee to receive B.A. degrees in Russian Language and Literature and Russian Area Studies, with a minor in French. He spent the next academic year studying in St. Petersburg, and then attended Ohio State, where he received his M.A. in Russian Language and Russian Literature and his Ph.D. in Slavic Linguistics. Jeff is a lover of languages (Lithuanian made number fourteen when he attended IU’s Summer Workshop in Slavic, East European and Central Asian Languages in 2006) and a passionate advocate of study abroad. His sociolinguistic research on contemporary Russian Old Believer communities takes him to conduct fieldwork in areas in the eastern United States, Poland, Lithuania, and Russia. In his free time, he likes performing and adding to his repertoire of vocal and guitar music from Eastern Europe and beyond.

Phone: (812) 855-4251
Email: jeffhold@indiana.edu

Lauren Caldarera – Assistant Director
Lauren grew up in Houston, Texas and attended Trinity University in San Antonio, where she received a B.A. in Social & Cultural Anthropology. Her love for learning about cultures has carried her around the world. Lauren has studied abroad in Israel, Zimbabwe, Uganda and Honduras and has traveled extensively in East Africa and the Middle East. After college, Lauren taught first-grade in East New York, Brooklyn and then moved to Washington State where she served as an AmeriCorps VISTA designing community based programs for rural youth. Committed to engaging young people in social change, Lauren entered graduate school at the University of Oregon and received a Masters in Public Administration focused on service-learning and youth development. Lauren’s most recent adventure is mastering her first instrument, the fiddle.

Phone: (812) 855-4552
Email: lcaldare@indiana.edu

Shelli Heishman – Office Assistant
Shelli grew up in Bloomington, Indiana and received her B.S. from the Kelley School of Business here at IU. After graduation Shelli had the opportunity to apply her business degree working in private industry throughout the U.S. and overseas. Most notably, she has lived and worked in Florida, Hawaii and Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. She considers herself fortunate to have experienced the Asian-Pacific cultures of Hawaii, but credits her time in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates for developing a greater understanding and appreciation of other world cultures.

Phone: (812) 855-4552
Email: slpearcy@indiana.edu

Konstantin Tchergueiko – Student Office Assistant
My name is Konstantin but everyone just calls me Con. I’m a senior majoring in History, Russian, and Philosophy. I was born in Minsk, Belarus and moved to the U.S. when I was nine. I now reside in Deerfield, on the north side of Chicago. This year I will be returning for my fourth and final year at the Global Village. As the student office assistant it is my job to help you with any small procedural tasks, such as setting up for an event, making photocopies, or putting up fliers. However, please feel free to ask me any questions you have in general since I have been a student at IU for quite some time – I’m happy to help in any way I can. My interests include tennis, motorcycles, chess, and intellectual discourse.

Office: 012
Room: 101
Email: ktchergu@indiana.edu

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Peer Instructors

	Carmen Cronin My name is Carmen and I’m a sophomore majoring in Spanish, French, and History. I’m also completing my pre-med coursework. I’ve lived in Bloomington most of my life. I studied in Brest, France my junior year of high school with the IU Honors Program in Foreign Languages. I lived in the GV as a freshman and will be living here this year as well. I’m part of IU-EMS and the IU Timmy Foundation chapter, with whom I went to Honduras during spring break last year. I plan on studying abroad in Aix-en-Provence, France my junior year. Email: ccronin@indiana.edu
	Melissa Dittmann My name is Melissa and I’m a sophomore returning for my second year at the GV. Between graduating from Chesterton High School in northwest Indiana and starting my studies at IU, I spent 6 months abroad in India. Now at IU, I’m using the Individualized Major Program to combine anthropology, Asian studies & the arts with a future goal of organizing arts programming to facilitate cross-cultural dialogue and understanding. Next fall, I’ll be studying Chinese & Tibetan—plus Arabic on the side. Email: mdittman@indiana.edu
	Toni Haraldsen My name is Toni and I’m a sophomore majoring in Secondary Education with a concentration in Social Studies. As an army brat, I’ve moved a lot and don’t consider any particular place my home. I lived in the GV as a freshman. As of now, I’m literate in Spanish, but plan on re-learning Norwegian and, eventually, studying Samoan in New Zealand for one year. I also intend to spend a summer studying in Guyana. On campus, I’m involved in Students Take Action Now: Darfur (STAND), Labyrinth Literary Magazine, and the IU Women’s Student Association. Email: tharalds@indiana.edu
	Weston Macklem I’m Weston from Terre Haute, Indiana. I’m a sophomore majoring in Political Science and French, with a minor in West European Studies. I lived in the GV as a freshman and will be returning again this year. As a junior in high school I traveled to Brest, France with the IU Honors Program in Foreign Languages. I’m hoping to spend my junior year abroad in Aix-en-Provence, France. After graduation I plan on attending law school, with the goal of pursuing a career in international politics and foreign relations. Email: wmacklem@indiana.edu
	Emily Pickett My name is Emily and I’m a sophomore majoring in History and Spanish with a minor in Economics. I’m a native Hoosier but lived in Virginia and Surrey, England before arriving in Bloomington. I participated in the IU Honors Program in Foreign Languages in Ciudad Real, Spain during my junior year of high school. I lived in the GV as a freshman. I work as a journalist for the Indiana Daily Student and I’m also an tour guide for IU Admissions. I enjoy exercise, soccer, goofing around with friends, and eating. Email: ehpicket@indiana.edu
	Scott Schaffer My name is Scott and I’m from Chicago. I’m a sophomore majoring in Spanish and International Studies. I lived in the GV as a freshman and will be returning again this year. Last year, I was an officer on the Central Council, our student government. I’ve visited many countries and believe learning foreign languages are important to bringing people together from different cultures. I plan on studying abroad my junior year in Spain or Argentina. Email: scschaff@indiana.edu
	Beth Taber My name is Beth and I’m from Zionsville, IN. I lived in the GV as a freshman and will return again for my sophomore year. My interest in the GV came from spending my junior summer of high school in Brest, France with the IU Honors Program in Foreign Languages. I’m majoring in Biology and French with a minor in Ethnomusicology. My future goals include going to medical school, interning in Kenya and, eventually, working with Doctors without Borders. Email: ebtaber@indiana.edu

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