New London —From rookie cop to undercover officer, from master's student to winner of the reality TV show "Big Brother" - Derrick Levasseur has led an interesting life since graduating from Mitchell College in 2004.

During a speech at his alma mater on Wednesday, Levasseur detailed some of the most important events in his life so far, many of which he says came about because of the choices he made as a student at Mitchell, where he earned his associate degree in criminal justice.

Levasseur, 31, came to speak after receiving an invitation via social media from Mitchell student Karin Leiper, one of Levasseur's 270,000 Instagram followers.

"When I see the Mitchell connection I usually reply," said Levasseur of Leiper's post. "It's nice to see kids that are 10 years younger than me are inspired by me."

Levasseur's life certainly has been inspiring.

Shortly after graduating, he was hired to his hometown police department in Central Falls, R.I. At age 20, he was the youngest officer ever hired by the department.

In 2007, while on patrol, he responded to a routine call that ended with him fatally shooting a man who charged him wielding a knife. Despite the trauma of a near-death experience, he returned to the service and to school, earning both a bachelor's and master's degree.

After graduating, he was promoted to his dream job as an undercover officer for three years - transforming his appearance with a beard, mohawk and piercing to fit the roles of ecstasy dealer, bartender and pimp.

Last year, Levasseur was cast in the 16th season of the reality TV show "Big Brother." In September, he won the competition, setting records for highest winnings with his $575,000 grand prize and for being the only winning contestant in the show's history to have never been nominated to be voted off the show.

Levasseur told the crowd of mostly students Wednesday that the decisions he made at their age led to his accomplishments later on. He said it was his ability to communicate with others that has allowed him to find success both personally and professionally, and that being a reality TV show contestant was the ultimate test of those abilities.

"I had to find things that we (myself and other contestants) had common interests in," Levasseur said. He said the previous challenges in his life gave him the know-how to do so. "I did it with the law enforcement community, I did it undercover, I did it going to Mitchell College."

As for his future, Levasseur is working on a book about his life and is looking into the possibility of a TV show.

"There's some things in the works in Los Angeles as far as TV - not reality, just true crime - as far as me being the spokesman for law enforcement and a TV show correlated with that," he said after his speech.

"If that happens, I'm going to have to get used to this," he said of his 15 minutes of fame.

If it doesn't happen, Levasseur - who currently serves as a sergeant on the Central Falls police force - said he would be fine with that, too.

"I'm going to leave here today, I'm going to work tonight, (then) come home and spend the day with my kid. That's honestly an awesome day for me," he said.

j.hopper@theday.com

Twitter: @JessHoppa