She was also the director of the School's Graduate Consulting Group, which conducted a study of the viability of a community market in downtown Trenton. Those opportunities allowed her to apply skills learned in the classroom and, at the same time, to help the community with that training. She helped draft the regulations for the law and conducted compliance visits to ensure understanding of the new law, visiting seven states. Cubas attributes some of her career success to a program in which she participated before enrolling at the School as an M.P.A. student. Cubas was selected as a Woodrow Wilson Fellow in what is now called the Public Policy and International Affairs Fellowship Program, an intense seven-week summer program for undergraduate students of color interested in pursuing careers in public and international affairs.
Students receive full funding for their studies at the institute as well as a generous stipend.
She did very well academically, particularly in her second year.