GUILDERLAND — One of five finalists for this year’s Albany Tulip Queen, Natalie Joseph says her goals are to serve her community and to be a role model for boys and girls.

“I’ve been doing volunteer work since I was 9,” she said. As part of the Delta Pearls program, she sang Christmas carols for sick children at St. Margaret’s, she recalls.

The Pearls are part of Delta Sigma Theta, a sorority dedicated to public service that targets the African-American community.

At 18, Joseph, who graduated from Guilderland High School last year, is now studying business marketing at The College of Saint Rose in Albany. She likes being close to home and she likes the individual support she gets from professors at Saint Rose. “You’re not just a number,” she said.

Joseph has a close-knit family and grew up knowing the importance of community service. Her father, Jean, came to the United States from Haiti when he was 9 years old. He works now as a corrections officer for the county sheriff.

Her older brother, Christopher, a Saint Rose graduate, works as an analyst for the state’s Department of Environmental Conservation. Both her brother and her father are volunteer firefighters with the McKownville department.

Her mother, Cher, is an adoption case worker for Albany County.

Joseph is passionate about promoting literacy, which she plans to do as a member of the Tulip Court, even if she is not selected as Tulip Queen. The queen will be crowned at the kickoff of the annual Tulip Festival, on May 12.

“I grew up with a learning disability in reading,” said Joseph. “My mom played a big role in helping me overcome that. She instilled in me the importance of reading and of education.”

In elementary school, Joseph was placed in a reading program apart from her classmates. “I felt separation,” she said.

She went on, “Musical theater also played a role with my literacy skills.” Joseph has been in several Park Playhouse productions where memorizing lines was essential to her roles. She played the part of an orphan in “Annie,” but the role that stands out for Joseph is that of Little Inez in “Hairspray.”

“I was the youngest character … The cast took me under their wing,” said Joseph who today is a petite 5 feet, 1 inch tall. The show is set in 1960s Baltimore as a teenage television dance show is integrated.

“It’s about racism in the society … There was a lot of segregation then,” said Joseph. “Inez wants her voice to be heard. In the end, it’s about coming together and equality.”

Ryan Murray, the public relations coordinator for the city’s Office of Cultural Affairs, said that typically 50 to 75 women are nominated each year to be Albany’s Tulip Queen. The candidates need to live in Albany County and be 18 to 24 years old. Appearance is “not at all” a factor in selection, he said; rather the emphasis is on community service.

The field is winnowed through an interview process, Murray said, with a selection committee made up of business and community leaders as well as former Tulip Queens and Tulip Court members.

For the last 15 to 20 years, the court’s service has focused on literacy, he said. “The queen is like the team captain and the four court members are like the team,” he said.

The women visit area schools throughout the year and develop their own ideas on literacy programs. A favorite recalled by Murray was creating a superheroes comic book in which Super Tulips solved problems.

“They become role models for kids in Albany,” said Murray. “It’s not about teaching kids how to read but teaching kids to love to read, showing them how it can be fun.”

Joseph said she does not feel competitive with the other four girls in the court, vying to be queen. Rather, she says, they have become friends.

“I’m just really happy to be part of this whole experience,” she said. “It’s not about me; it’s about serving others.”