Tulip Queen Candidates have goals beyond beauty

By David S. Lewis

NEW SCOTLAND – Two New Scotland Sunday-school teachers are in the running to be Albany’s Tulip Queen.  Jessica Engel, of Voorheesville, and Amy LaGrange, of Feura Bush, are among the five finalists, one of whom will be crowned at a ceremony on May 10. 

The queen serves as the ambassador of the city of Albany; she and her court will also be involved with Mayor Jerry Jennings’s literacy campaign, bringing local authors and the queen and her court to schools to read.

LaGrange, 21, was nominated by her older sister, Kristy, after expressing interest in the tulip pageant.  She studies English and special education at The College of Saint Rose.

“I had mentioned it to her that it was a cool thing, and she wrote a really nice letter,” said LaGrange, daughter of town councilman Doug LaGrange.  “Mayor Jennings’s literacy campaign is just great,” said LaGrange. “To be able to have that opportunity to improve literacy, that is what I want out of this, pretty much; it is one more way I can give back to my community.”

LaGrange, a deacon at the Unionville Reformed Church, has taught Sunday school there since her first year of high school. She started a youth program at the church, “Kidz with Bibles.”  She said the church, hadn’t had a youth program since she herself was a youth.  LaGrange said she has grown close to many of her students and is now teaching some of their younger siblings.

LaGrange is no stranger to civic duty, either; she volunteered her time at Child’s Nursing Home, where her mother worked, from middle school until she graduated; at 16 she coordinated every volunteer at the nursing home. 

“Every Saturday, that was where I was,” said LaGrange.

She went to school for recreational therapy but switched her field of study to special education, and began working part-time as a health-care provider for people with Down’s syndrome.

“I have never thought of this as a pageant; I have never considered it to be that,” she said when queried on the merits of pageantry.  “The Tulip Queen doesn’t focus on beauty whatsoever; I definitely would not win if it did,” she said.  “The contest is about showing the community that there are strong women out there that give back to the community; that’s what’s really important.”

Engel, 21, is a senior at the State University of New York’s College at Plattsburgh, where she is studying broadcast journalism with minors in business and broadcast.  Her father, Raymond, nominated Engel, who will graduate on May 17.  Engel has taught Sunday school for four years at St. Matthew’s in Voorheesville. 

Engel, an athlete who has played volleyball, basketball, and softball, says that one of her goals is to begin a program that combats childhood obesity, which has become a serious problem.

“It is becoming a national epidemic, if it hasn’t already,” said Engel, who hopes to begin a program that will encourage children to stay fit by playing sports.

Engel has also been involved with the Ronald McDonald House, the City Mission, and the Relay for Life, in which she first participated eight years ago.  As a resident assistant at her dormitory at SUNY Plattsburgh, she has led food drives and fund-raisers to help those in need.

“The biggest one we did was the Adopt-a-Friend program, which was around Christmastime,” she said.  “We raised money for children not fortunate enough to get gifts, and we even raised enough to buy some extra.”

Engel and her dorm-mates raised $150, which was about $100 more than their $50 goal.

Engel spoke highly of last year’s court; she said that the newcomers would have huge shoes to fill.

“I think bringing in local authors also gave children a chance to put a face with the book,” she said of the literacy program.

She hopes to conduct local book drives and other literacy-promoting activities.

“Anything we can do, as a state, to promote literacy,” she said passionately.  “There are certain parts of Albany that aren’t Voorheesville; I just want everyone to get the same chance that I did.”