VETERAN broadcast professional and long-time UST educator Asst. Prof. Faye Abugan is set to part ways with the University after more than three decades of service.
Abugan said her retirement had been “a long time coming” as she wanted to pursue other opportunities outside the University.
“I’ve always wanted to retire. I feel that now’s the perfect time,” she told the Varsitarian. “Kasi nga dahil wala na akong [administrative] duty, there’s nothing that will hold me back.”
She said she began seriously considering her decision to retire during the Covid-19 pandemic, though her work with the University’s official broadcasting arm, the Tiger Media Network (TMN), and Communications Bureau postponed her plans.
“Ang daming mong iniisip, ang daming mong pagpaplanuhan. There was creative energy. So medyo na-park [ang desisyong mag-retire],” she said.
Despite her early retirement, Abugan said she would stay connected with the Thomasian community through alumni engagements and external projects.
“I’m not completely abandoning UST, of course, I’ll still be active in the alumni activities, [Arts and Letters], UST or [the Communication] program, so andun pa rin ‘yon,” she said.
“I’m cooking up things with former TMN and volunteers also, we’re doing some stuff outside, and also consulting, mga ganung bagay. I’ll still be around, but it’s really more of a creative endeavor now,” she added.
Abugan recently ventured into content creation on TikTok, where she has more than 12,900 followers.
“I’m exploring possibilities with TikTok, not just as a content creator, but as a producer talaga. Kumbaga, parang bringing the discipline of TV to TikTok. Ang dami pa kasing pwedeng matutuhan sa TikTok,” she said.
She also revealed plans to establish an “unconventional” teaching school for creative industries.
Abugan has extensive experience in television production, serving as an executive producer at TV5 and as director of various media productions.
She is the founding director of TMN, established in 2018.
Under her management, TMN won international recognition, including awards in the United States-based Intercollegiate Broadcasting System (IBS) and International Student Broadcasting Championship.
After leaving TMN, Abugan focused on teaching at the Faculty of Arts and Letters, where she taught courses in the Department of Communication and the Department of Journalism.
Abugan served as the assistant director of the UST Communications Bureau for six years.
She began working as faculty advisor in the Educational Technology Center in 2004.
Abugan received the Dangal ng UST Award for 25 years of service in 2021 and a Distinguished Thomasian Alumni Award in 2025.
