Art Alumni Honored with ’10 Under Ten’ Awards
Art alumni Kalin Devone ’15 and Kaitlyn Linscheid ’20 have received 2025 “10 Under Ten” Awards. Each year, the UNC Charlotte GOLD Alumni Network selects 10 graduates who from the past decade who demonstrate professional excellence, leadership and a commitment to service. This year’s celebration was held Thursday, Feb. 19, in the Popp Martin Student Union.
Devone is a multidisciplinary artist whose work explores social culture and collective influence. Blending realism with expressive mark-making, she creates vivid portraiture and figurative paintings defined by layered brushstrokes and bold color. Devone also works at large scale, integrating digital and aerosol techniques to bring her practice into contemporary and public spaces.
Devone’s collaborations include projects with the PGA Tour, PUMA, Modelo and Formula 1. In 2019, she curated her first solo exhibition, Perpetual. Recent exhibitions include The Renaissance of Brooklyn, Local Street at The Mint Museum, My Presence Is Present at the Harvey B. Gantt Center and Role Play at UNC Charlotte. She is an adjunct lecturer in the Department of Art & Art History.
“My professors constantly challenged me and pushed me to be intentional not only with my concepts but with my mark making,” Devone said about her education at UNC Charlotte. “I will always be thankful for that, as I see all of the lessons they taught me in my current work.”
Linscheid is an art teacher at Matthews Elementary School who is passionate about helping students grow not only as artists, but as creative thinkers with a voice. Each year, Kaitlyn transforms her school into a vibrant gallery, curating a massive art show featuring more than 1,600 pieces of student work. It’s a celebration of imagination, individuality and the belief that every child deserves to see their creativity valued.
Linscheid was named the 2025 Teacher of the Year at Matthews Elementary and has received both the Arts & Science Council of Charlotte’s Cato Excellence in Teaching Award and the Charlotte‑Mecklenburg Schools Up and Coming Arts Educator Award.
“The art education program at UNC Charlotte had such a supportive slate of professors that truly cared about my success in teaching art,” she said. “They offered support and guidance and equipped me to make a difference in the lives of so many young artists.”
See the full list of 2026 “10 Under Ten” Awardees here.
Photos by Kat Lawrence.