GUILDERLAND — Samantha Coons, 19, who has lived in Guilderland all her life, is heading toward a career in either health administration (“running a hospital and shaping its culture”) or acting as an economic advisor to policymakers. The Siena sophomore is majoring in economics and doing a minor in political science.

And one other thing she’s doing: Coons is one of five finalists vying for the title of Tulip Queen in the 68th annual Tulip Festival to be held in Albany on May 7 and 8.

Coons grew up in Guilderland, attending Lynnwood Elementary and graduating from Guilderland High School in 2014.

Her passions for both areas of the careers she has in mind stem from her family experiences.

As a child, she said, she tagged along as her grandfather was in and out of hospitals, and she had a chance to see for herself what made for a good hospital experience, which she said always included “doctors who took time to explain things.” And hospitals where doctors take time with patients have “much better outcomes,” she said, because of the communication. She added that she is a “big senior advocate.”

Coons took her first economics class at Siena this year and quickly realized how much she liked it. She wants to learn more about “the things that shape our economy.” She has interned at the New York State Senate, “doing legislative research as well as constituent services.” She is keenly interested in politics and says that the economic, or fiscal, part of politics is the most fascinating.

She gets this interest, she said, from having grown up in a family that was very involved in community service: her mother, Michelle Coons, has run for Guilderland Town Board and served as town comptroller from 1998 to 1999. Samantha Coons’s parents have been on the boards of Pop Warner and Babe Ruth, and her aunt, Jackie Coons, is Guilderland’s building and zoning inspector.

What drew her to the Tulip Queen contest? The chance, she told The Enterprise, to be part of something bigger than herself that would make a lasting impact on the community, through the court’s volunteer work.

“When I read about the amazing programs the Tulip Queens and Courts have done in previous years, I was in awe of all they’ve done. Their literacy program helps children spark a love of reading. When you’re able to spark a love of education during elementary school, you’re more likely to be successful later on.”

Coons is on the executive board of the Siena College Red Cross Club, where she is volunteer service chairwoman and is currently transitioning to the club’s vice presidency. The club’s volunteer work, she said, focuses on doing crafts with residents at nursing homes, where the real pleasure for both volunteers and seniors, she said, is the chance to talk and get to know one another. “It gives them time to speak to young people, while we get to hear about their lives and the generation they grew up in.”

The contest is no longer a beauty pageant, said Jason Bonafide, a spokesman for the City of Albany Office of Special Events and Cultural Affairs. It started out as one years ago, but “has evolved over the years into a community service organization,” he said.

The selection process is fairly involved, Coons said, and includes a nomination; written answers to questions on an application; an interview; a Tulip Tea for semi-finalists, at which each young woman must answer one prepared and one surprise question; a final interview; the selection of the Tulip Court; and then the selection of a queen only after the judges have observed the court at various events.

Typically, Bonafide said, 50 to 70 women apply each year; this year there were 50 applicants.

For the entire year of their reign, the court is out “five, six, or seven days a week,” and its main focus is promoting literacy in the community, said Bonafide. “Each Tulip Court develops their own literacy program that they implement in local schools,” he added.

The other finalists are Shannon Moquin, 19, from Albany; Mariah Rickard, 20, from Cohoes; Racquel Saddler, 23, of Albany; and Adaviah Ward, 21, also of Albany.