ORANGE – Addie Vincent vividly remembers the day, about two years ago, when she looked into the mirror and finally felt normal.

Then a Chapman University sophomore, Vincent had on makeup, a dress and styled hair for the Halloween costume of Ursula, the character from the “The Little Mermaid.”

“At that moment, I decided to live my life as a transgender person,” said Vincent, who was born a male.

Today, the Chapman senior, 21, loves wearing six-inch heels with flowing gowns. The look, Vincent said, helps bring out her inner Audrey Hepburn and Marilyn Monroe.

Vincent hopes to channel that look next week when she becomes the first-ever transgender contestant in the Delta Queen Pageant, Chapman’s annual all-female competition organized by the Greek system.

Vincent said she’s teeming with nerves as she prepares her routines and picks out her outfits. She’s chosen two gowns – a coral-colored number, and a flowered red and black piece. But one thing she’s not worried about is how she’ll be received at the contest.

“Everyone has been very supportive,” Vincent said. “This is a progressive campus. My entry into the pageant proves it.”

Each contestant was nominated by a campus fraternity or sorority. The Alpha Delta Phi fraternity chose Vincent with a 20-0 vote.

“She came to us late last year and asked if we would be willing to support,” said Wil Deas, the fraternity’s president. “We were really excited about it. We felt like by selecting Addie, we would be making a bigger statement. Transgender people exist, and they deserve complete inclusion.”

(Vincent does not go by her legal first name; she declined to reveal it to protect her privacy.)

The Delta Queen Pageant, a fundraiser for the Beckstrand Cancer Association, is run by the Greek system with some university oversight. School officials said they also support Vincent’s participation.

“This is virtually a non-issue for us, other than the fact that we are glad Addie is a part of the event,” said Mary Platt, Chapman’s spokeswoman.

Vincent said the tolerant culture at Chapman, a 7,100-student private school started 153 years ago as a Christian college, has helped her assimilate into her new life.

She grew up in a Detroit suburb. Through high school, she tried to live as a straight male, despite suspicions from some friends, family and classmates that Vincent was gay.

“My family, and those closest to me, has always been in my corner. But after high school, I wanted to start a new life,” she said.

Her first day as a Chapman freshman, Vincent came out as a gay. The next year, Vincent began living as a woman. She now has long brown hair, wears makeup and loves to slip on high heels. Her voice is deep but feminine. She is considering undergoing hormone treatments to add more feminine physical characteristics. She said she is not planning to have gender-reassignment surgery.

At 5 feet, 9 inches, Vincent towers over most students when she walks around campus in heels. She’s heard a handful of off-colored jokes and comments from some on campus.

Vincent, a peace studies major who eventually wants to work for a nonprofit group in some fashion, tries to ignore them, or her group of friends steps in to defend her.

“I think many people say things because they don’t understand or have misconceptions,” Vincent said.

The student, who is working to create Chapman’s first gender-neutral “frarority,” said a goal for her participation in the pageant is to bring awareness to “trans visibility.” She’s promoted her campaign on Facebook and Twitter, hoping her story will be picked up by the national media.

She’s also looking to reach out to Cassidy Lynn Campbell, the Marina High student who last year become Orange County’s first openly transgender homecoming queen.

“People like Cassidy are breaking down barriers,” she said. “They show how important it is to be proactive, instead of reactive.”

Vincent’s pageant foray won’t end after next week’s Chapman competition.

“I’m looking at other pageant possibilities,” she said. “Who knows, maybe one day I’ll be the first transgender Miss America.”

Register staff writer Brittany Hanson contributed to this report.

Contact the writer: 714-704-3773 or fleal@ocregister.com