Ngo continued playing football all the way through college, starting as a scholarship athlete at Langston University before transferring to the University of Oklahoma as a walk-on. Making the jump to a Division I program was less about competing for a chance at the next level and more about gaining valuable experience around football as well as earning an exercise science degree.
His education and football knowledge led to internships at Arizona State and UNLV, but there was one caveat.
"I remember doing internships for almost two and a-half years for free," Ngo said. "I did it for free just starting out and doing odd jobs. I was working at a Halloween store in Las Vegas. It's called Halloween Mart. I was working sporting events, like pulling cables for the cameramen.
"So I remember when I got my first paycheck, I was like, 'oh my God, I'm getting paid for this.' It was like $1,000 for the whole month, but I thought, 'this is so awesome.'"
While paychecks from Halloween Mart were sporadic, one thing remained constant — his parents' support.
Since Ngo was young, Kiman and Thanh dealt with puzzled looks from friends when they explained their son's desired profession. When he graduated and didn't have a steady income, more questions poured in from those outside the family.
"When I was working for free for those two and a half years, I was 26 and still making nothing," Ngo said. "Everyone's like, 'hey, what's Pierre doing now? He's got his degree.' My parents were like, 'yeah he's still working for free.'
"They have been my biggest supporters from Day 1. They sacrificed a lot. They never second guessed it at all. I'm very lucky, because a lot of people don't have that."
But to Kiman and Thanh, all they really wanted was for their son, as well as their two younger daughters Yvonne and LeAnn, to be happy with the life they created. It's the reason Kiman immigrated from his small hometown of Song Cau, Vietnam to the United States in 1975, with Thanh and her parents, Diep Bao Hon (grandfather) and Nguyen Thi Rong (grandmother), later joining in 1980.