MEDUSA — One of the five finalists for this year’s Tulip Queen includes a 19-year-old Medusa resident, Julianna Rauf, who has big plans not only for herself but for helping immigrants and refugees with reading and writing.

Rauf grew up in Medusa on her family farm. She helped when she could, she said, with her grandfather’s garden or feeding the cows, but was often busy working during the summer at Pine Lake Manor in Greenville as a waitress.

“It was very peaceful,” she said, describing growing up surrounded by nature.

She attended Greenville High School, which she said gave her many opportunities due to it being a small school, from sports to the arts.

Rauf is currently a sophomore at Siena College as a commuter student. It’s a 45-minute drive from her home to school, she said, but she sometimes stays at her grandmother’s home in Albany and house-sits for her to save on gas money.

She is majoring in English with two minors: writing and communication, and educational studies.

“Ultimately, it’s very hard for me to choose a major,” she said. “I want to learn about everything.”

She is torn between two career paths, either traveling the world as a journalist or working as a professor of writing. She said it will depend on if she obtains a fellowship to pursue a doctorate or if she gets an internship at a publication. She said she was looking at New York Minute Magazine in the near future, but would love to eventually write for The New York Times Magazine.

“I just want to be successful — not in terms of wealth, but in terms of happiness,” she said.

Rauf splits her time among school, work, and various activities at Siena. She is an employee at Stewart’s Shops, where she works night shifts a few times a week during her time at school and 25 to 30 hours a week during breaks.

At Siena, she volunteers as a tutor either at the school’s writing center or the Higher Education Opportunities Program. She also writes articles for HerCampus, a website that features blogs from female college students, and she is a Siena Saint, an orientation leader at her school. And she plays intramural sports like volleyball and softball, and plays soccer at the Afrim Athletic Complex.

“I try to be selective of what I do so I can enjoy it,” she said, explaining how she relaxes with her busy schedule.

When Rauf does have free time, she said she likes to spend it outdoors riding her bicycle, hiking, or kayaking. She also sings and plays the saxophone, and enjoys reading and writing. And she likes to spend time with her younger brother Jacob and her chocolate Labrador, Princeton.

She hopes to travel to Scotland through a three-week program at Siena in the summer, where she said there is an excellent writing program as well as an opportunity for her to travel for the first time outside of North America.

Rauf feels literacy is an important skill to teach. She has proposed a volunteer project to be done by the Tulip Court called “Yours, Mine, and Our Story.” She would like to work with the United States Committee for Refugees and Immigrants to help immigrants and refugees incorporate into mainstream American society with a literacy program. Her plan is to have a group of immigrants and refugees share their ideas and use them to write a story.

“I think that this gives them a chance for their voices to be heard,” she said.

Rauf said she feels she is humble and can emphasize with people very well. She said that empathy can be an important trait when teaching literacy. She is also excited to write blogs as a member of the Tulip Court.

Women between the ages of 18 and 24 can be nominated for the role by a friend, family member, or mentor, said Ryan Murray, public relations coordinator for the Office of Cultural Affairs at Albany City Hall. The women must be Albany County residents for the entire time they serve as queen or on the court, which lasts from the coronation at the Albany Tulip Festival on May 13 until next year’s festival.

For Rauf, a friend and mentor nominated her. Karen (née Colehour) Klouse was the 2011 Tulip Queen and is the sister-in-law of Rauf’s boyfriend.

“I kind of see herself as my mentor,” said Rauf. “We have very similar personalities.”

Klouse asked Rauf if she could nominate her, to ensure she wouldn’t be too busy to serve on the court.

“I freaked out — I was very excited,” said Rauf. “It’s very important coming from a past queen.”

According to Murray, the program receives a few dozen nominations, with 25 to 30 women being interviewed by the Tulip Queen Selection Committee, followed by a “Tulip Tea” where they meet other candidates, and then a final interview. The committee looks for a candidate with pride in the Albany area as well as an interest in volunteering.

Out of the five finalists who are chosen, one will serve as queen, the others will be members of the Tulip Court. All five will volunteer during their time on the court; court members will each receive a $1,500 scholarship and the queen, a $5,000 scholarship, said Murray.

A Tulip Queen has reigned since the Tulip Festival began 69 years ago, said Murray.