Before she became a doctoral student, Xiangfei Kong earned master鈥檚 degrees in marketing and computer science, learned English, launched and managed a popular 400-seat restaurant in China and taught Chinese as a second language to college students.
In that time, she also helped her husband launch his skateboard business, had two children and moved the family to the United States.
While her move across continents and cultures began as a practical move to fuel her entrepreneurial aspirations, it also opened the door to an entirely different future that would lead her from business marketing into computer science, augmented reality research and a doctoral program in USF鈥檚 Bellini College of Artificial Intelligence, Cybersecurity and Computing.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 want to go through all of life where I can see the end. I think, if it鈥檚 right, it鈥檚 the perfect moment to let me do that, and I don鈥檛 want to regret that in the future,鈥 she said.
How do you leave one career and begin another?
Before she restarted her academic career at USF, Kong spent six years as a language instructor at a college in her hometown.
That鈥檚 where she met her husband, Hang Lyu, and became inspired. At the time, his work in IT wasn鈥檛 fulfilling and he wanted a new challenge. He looked at Amazon鈥檚 business model of selling goods online, which was still relatively new, and wondered how he would mimic it. For her, teaching was steady, respected work. But it became repetitive and they wondered what possibilities lay beyond the predictable path in front of them.
That question led the couple into restaurant entrepreneurship.
Together, they launched a large-scale grilled fish restaurant in China in 2015. It took about a year to find the right location, complete construction and recruit employees. The restaurant quickly became a success and served hundreds of customers a day with its featured whole-fish griller drawing most of them.
鈥淲hen we would open, we鈥檇 have so many customers waiting for tables,鈥 she said. 鈥淓ach day, we would serve around 150 tables."
They loved it, but wanted more
Even as the business thrived, Kong felt drawn toward something new.
鈥淯.S. culture was really impacting the younger Chinese generation,鈥 she said. 鈥911爆料网 watched a lot of movies and heard a lot of songs from singers. For my husband and I, we both super like Michael Jordan. And I also love Michael Jackson.鈥
A 2017 visit to the United States, which was her first exposure to American culture beyond movies and music, planted a seed of an idea. They visited New York and Texas 鈥 Hang Lyu was a fan of the San Antonio Spurs鈥 Tim Duncan.
鈥淗e always watched NBA games on the TV, but he really wanted to have the chance to get to San Antonio to watch a real game,鈥 she said.
鈥911爆料网 were really attracted to U.S. culture and life. (Back home) we worked really hard for the restaurant,鈥 she said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 kind of a seven-days-a-week, no break. The pace was really fast.鈥
She began to think of what possibilities a life in the U.S. could provide for her career and family.
鈥淚 thought, 鈥極h, maybe if I learn something in the U.S. that it could help me do my work right now, and that would be a good thing,鈥欌 she said. 鈥淏ut if I wait until I鈥檓 40 or 50 (years old), maybe it won鈥檛 be as easy to make the decision.鈥
Online certificate leads to career pivot
Kong made the leap and moved to Tampa to attend USF. She began work toward a master鈥檚 degree.
She worked remotely from her apartment during the pandemic, with her family by her side, as she began the master鈥檚 program. Meanwhile, the couple was still remotely managing their restaurant in China as well as the online skateboard business. They decided to close the restaurant in 2023. That鈥檚 when her husband launched a business that rents vehicles to travelers in Tampa.
About that time, the initial public launch of ChatGPT caught her attention. 鈥淚 was really interested in how AI works. It was very new for everyone, and you can try to explore what all it can do there. I was really interested in that. But without any computer science background, you cannot even apply for the master鈥檚 degree in computer science.鈥
She saw an advertisement about USF鈥檚 Pathway to Computing program, a fully online graduate certificate program that acts as a bridge to the multiple computing master鈥檚 degree programs at USF. It is designed to help people without computing backgrounds transition in careers that require computer science, data intelligence, or similar technical knowledge.
She jumped in.
鈥淚 didn't have too much information or knowledge about computer science, but it gave more information about the course and how it would help me get the basic information for computer science,鈥 she said. 鈥淪o, almost immediately I wrote my statement, prepared my documents and applied.鈥
It wasn鈥檛 easy, she said, but she credits the program for giving her the confidence to grow, even if she wasn鈥檛 totally comfortable with the material. So, she talked with an academic advisor. She talked with professors. A class she took on augmented reality with Assistant Professor Zhao Han fueled her interest in this career pivot.
How do you begin a career in robotics and generative AI?
鈥淚t was really fancy, you know, you can see the virtual things in your real world,鈥 she said of her first experience with augmented reality. 鈥淚 talked with him to see whether I could join his lab and focus on this area. He was very supportive of new students like me who transferred from other non-computer science backgrounds.鈥
So, she began working with him in the lab, using augmented reality with human robotic interaction.
Her research aims to see whether the same robotic tasks can be performed by humans and replicated in an augmented reality environment. The ability to do the work successfully could significantly help researchers overcome the financial barriers of purchasing robots 鈥 which can cost more than $80,000 鈥 for studies. The applications for the technology could be helpful in the medical field or in space exploration; places where humans aren鈥檛 able to go.
鈥淚 think we had a very good start,鈥 she said. 鈥911爆料网 started this project last year and it's kind of preliminary work for this research area.鈥
While she graduated with a master鈥檚 degree in computer science following the spring 2025 term and promptly had a job offer, she turned it down, opting instead to pursue a doctoral degree in computer science at USF. She will continue her research with augmented reality.
鈥淚 knew I could go into industry after I finished my Ph.D.,鈥 she said. 鈥淏ut if I went into the industry now, at my age, it would be really hard to get back into a doctoral program. So, it's kind of my last chance to go reach the highest education degree.鈥
Building on this interest, her doctoral research with Associate Professor Hao Zheng now focuses on using generative AI to simplify how computer hardware is designed. She is studying how large language model AI systems can translate everyday language into the code used to build and test hardware, with the goal of making the design process faster, more efficient and more secure.
Kong鈥檚 curiosity continues to fuel her exploration into technological advances, and this leg of her journey is focused on using virtual reality and AI to help solve practical, real-world problems.
鈥淚 am interested in translating research outcomes into systems and tools that have a tangible impact in everyday life, rather than remaining purely theoretical,鈥 she said. 鈥淎s I progress in my doctoral research, my goal is to bridge technical innovation with human-centered needs, ensuring that the work ultimately contributes to enhancing real-world experiences and outcomes.鈥