The University of North Carolina Wilmington recently announced the recipients of the 2024 UNCW Alumni Association Distinguished Awards.

According to a news release, the awards are presented to individuals in recognition of their extraordinary achievement, outstanding character and exemplary service to the university and community.

The awardees were acknowledged during homecoming festivities, and a formal celebration will be held later in the year. 

"Our honorees not only recognize and are grateful that UNCW has transformed their lives, but they are giving back and setting the stage for future Seahawks to have their turn," said Lindsay LeRoy, UNCW alumni association executive director, in the release. "Each recipient's personal and professional success has been intentionally intertwined with the university to ensure a better UNCW, community and world. Hand in hand with UNCW, these four individuals have, and continue to push their alma mater to new heights. On behalf of over 100,000 alumni globally, it is an honor to recognize their contributions to a place we all love." 

The following are excerpts from UNCW's description of the winners: 

• Linda Sayed ('78, '85M), Distinguished Alumna of the Year, is a North Carolina Certified Family Law Specialist. Since 2005, she has been a partner at Block, Crouch, Keeter, Behm & Sayed LLP with an office in downtown Wilmington. She previously practiced as an associate attorney with Ward & Smith, P.A. Before becoming an attorney, she taught chemistry at Hoggard High School and UNCW and worked as an assistant principal with New Hanover County Schools. She has served as president of the Fifth Judicial Bar and president of the local chapter of the N.C. Association of Women Attorneys.
• Sergio Madera-Garcia ('21), Distinguished Young Alumnus of the Year, is the Leadership Development Program director in N.C. State's Student Leadership and Engagement Office. Before arriving at N.C. State, Madera-Garcia was the program assistant and translator for UNCW's Centro Hispano. He is actively involved in Alpha Psi Lambda National, Inc., where he served as a chapter director and also southeast regional director in 2022-23. In 2022, Madera-Garcia was awarded Outstanding Chapter Advisor and National Office Volunteer. Madera-Garcia is a Latinx Ed Fellow, a program that invests in Latinx leadership to advance educational equity and opportunity in North Carolina. He is also a graduate ambassador at N.C. State. In 2023, he received the NCSU College of Education Leadership Award. He graduated with a bachelor's in communication studies with a double minor in Spanish and leadership from UNCW.
• James Stasios ('70), Distinguished Citizen of the Year, is semi-retired from Lincoln Financial Group. He is a member of the Wilmington Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors and was the association’s president from 1989-90. Stasios is a 40-year consecutive donor to the university, placing him in the UNCW Clocktower Society at the Ambassador level.
• Melissa Batchelor ('96, '00M), winner of the Distinguished Diversity Award, has dedicated her career to improving the lives of older adults through her clinical practice, teaching, research, policy experience and service. She earned her bachelor's and master's degrees in nursing from UNCW. Batchelor was a lecturer for UNCW's School of Nursing (SON) from 2005-11 while earning her post-master's certificate as a nurse educator and her doctoral degree from the Medical University of South Carolina. Batchelor was an associate professor at the Duke University SON from 2011-18 and is the current Director of the Center for Aging, Health and Humanities at George Washington University SON. She is board-certified as a gerontological registered nurse and family nurse practitioner.