alumna, alumnus

An alumna is a woman graduate or former student of a college or university. The plural is alumnae.

• Margaret Laurence was an alumna of United College in Winnipeg.
• Dr. Margaret Chan, Director-General of the World Health Organization, is one of the notable alumnae of Ontario’s Brescia College.

Some writers now prefer the Latin masculine alumnus (singular) and alumni (plural) for both men and women.

• McMaster alumnus Myron Scholes was awarded the 1997 Nobel Prize in economics.
• Quebec’s Superior Court Judge France Charbonneau is an alumnus of the University of Montréal.
• St. Francis Xavier University alumni are easily recognized by their gold rings with the distinctive black X.