Students

A day in the life of Keikilani Cabus

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Keikilani Cabus outside on the GPS campus

Take a look at how one second-year student balances his studies in international affairs while also serving in student government

How do you juggle a full-time master’s program, leading a student government and participating in campus clubs — all while still finding time to socialize with friends? It’s certainly not easy, but Keikilani Cabus — a 2025 candidate for the Master of International Affairs (MIA) degree at UC San Diego’s School of Global Policy and Strategy (GPS) — is proof that it can be done.

Before coming to GPS, Cabus attended UC San Diego for his undergraduate degree, majoring in Japanese Studies. During that time, he participated in a trip to Japan, during which he and other students visited businesses and organizations there. Ulrike Schaede, professor of Japanese business at GPS, was one of the trip’s leaders, which was how Cabus became interested in pursuing graduate-level education at the school.

After completing his bachelor’s degree, he participated in the JET Program, a teaching exchange program managed by the Japanese government. Through the program, he spent five years teaching English in Fukushima. He also volunteered in the city of Minamisoma to help radiation clean-up efforts, which have been ongoing since 2011, when devastating earthquakes and a tsunami severely damaged nearby nuclear power plants.

After working in Japan, he came back to UC San Diego, this time to GPS, pursuing an MIA degree with a concentration in international development and nonprofit management, and a regional focus on Japan. Cabus has a busy schedule: In addition to pursuing his master’s, he is also the president of the Graduate Organization of GPS, commonly referred to as GO GPS, and is involved in other student groups at UC San Diego.

GPS News spoke to Cabus to hear more about how he spends his days, and how he manages school work alongside his other commitments.

How does graduate school compare to your undergraduate experience, especially since you did UC San Diego for both?
Keikilani Cabus: In undergrad, it felt like everyone was kind of in their own world; everyone would just study and do their own thing, and I only really connected with other people by joining clubs. But at GPS, everyone’s together for summer prep, and then we’re all together in core classes, so I interacted with the same students every day. Everyone ends up bonding because they’re all going through the same thing. I ended up becoming friends with people I would never have expected to: My roommate’s from Belgium, I have some friends from Turkey, I’m friends with people from the Philippines…. People here are from all over the place, which is really nice.

Juggling so many responsibilities is not easy, but Keikilani Cabus is proof that it can be done.

Where do you live in relation to campus?
KC: I’m in graduate student housing, in one of the newer buildings. The area is really nice, and I like how it’s all updated and furnished, so I didn’t have to buy any furniture. I wanted to meet new people so I applied for the 6 bedroom. Once I got back to the U.S., I purchased a motorcycle, and that’s what I usually use to commute to school. It takes five to 10 minutes to get to campus, but if it rains, I’ll use the campus shuttle, which takes around 15 minutes. I can get to school pretty quickly.

This year, you were the president of GO GPS, the student government. How did you get involved with that?
KC: Last spring, the previous board was looking for members, and they asked me, because I was very social with other students — I host a lot of get-togethers, I invite people to go out to eat, I like to have barbecues, things like that. I wanted to find a way to give first-year students the same support that I got as I was adjusting to coming back to school. To do that, I’ve tried to have GO GPS be more present to students, to see what the first-years want and to offer more targeted events. As a whole, at GO GPS, we are the main liaison between the dean, the associate dean and the Student Affairs staff.

What does a typical day as a student look like for you?
KC: Usually, my classes are in the afternoon. So usually I wake up around 9 or 10 a.m., but if I have a quiz that day, I usually wake up a little bit earlier. I’ll go over readings for class and cook some breakfast, then I’ll head to school on my bike. Then it’s straight to the GO GPS office. I like to leave the door open if anyone has questions, to tell me about an upcoming club event, or if they need to pick up materials for class — we have pencils, calculators and other miscellaneous things if people need them.

“If you’re worried about whether you can afford to go back to school, you’ve got options.”

When I’m not talking to anyone, I’ll work on schoolwork, writing papers or memos, and since I’m about to graduate, submitting job applications and working on my resume. My classes start at 11 a.m., and then at 2 p.m., I’ll grab lunch with somebody. If there’s a GO GPS meeting that day, that’s at 5 p.m., and then I’ll head home after that.

What advice do you have for someone who’s considering coming to GPS?
KC: If you’re worried about whether you can afford to go back to school, you’ve got options. You probably qualify for a fellowship or scholarship, so apply early and connect with the admissions team on your application. I was worried I was going to take a lot of money out of my savings to attend GPS, but it ended up working out really well with the fellowship support I received.

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About author
Douglas Girardot is the writer and editor at the School of Global Policy and Strategy. Before joining GPS, he worked as the assistant community editor at The Day, a newspaper in New London, Connecticut. He was a postgraduate editorial fellow at America magazine in New York City. His work as a culture writer has appeared in The Washington Post.
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