The daughter of a barber and retired pulp and paper mill machinist, Amy Goings understands firsthand what it means to have technical skills.

“When parents have skills that allow them to have family-sustaining jobs, that means children can realize their dreams,” said Goings, a Bremerton native, who was the first in her family to graduate from college and is currently a doctoral candidate in higher education administration at the University of Nebraska Lincoln.

And now just three weeks into her new position as president of the Lake Washington Institute of Technology, this notion is what has impressed Goings the most about the college so far.

She spent most of her first week away from her desk, speaking with students, faculty and staff. She said she’s “very impressed” by some of the faculty and staff members’ longevity at the school, some as long as 15 to 26 years.

“To me, that just really speaks to their commitment to the institutions well-being, as well as to the success of our students,” Goings said. “I don’t think that’s all very unusual, given the meaning of our mission because everyone who works at an institution like Lake Washington knows how transformative workforce education can be in the lives of our students and their families.”

The Lake Washington Institute of Technology board of trustees unanimously chose Goings as the school’s ninth president in May. The decision completed a seven-month public process.

Goings began her position on July 1, replacing Sharon McGavick, who served as interim president since November 2012. The college’s late president, David Woodall, 67, died in September 2012 of a heart attack.

Before Goings began her community and technical college career, she worked as deputy director in the Legislature for retired Congressman Norm Dicks. During this time, she helped the Bates Technical College legislative committee to better understand how federal legislation impacted students.

She began her career at Bates, and later joined Clover Park Technical College, working as vice president of operations and college relations.

“But my personal and professional commitment is really to advancing workforce education,” Goings said. “So when the opportunity presented itself to come here, I was just so thrilled because this institution is really a leader statewide … and especially an inspiration to other technical colleges because Lake Washington was the first to be granted the opportunity to offer a four-year applied baccalaureate degree.”

She said she was also attracted to Lake Washington Institute of Technology because the school is “partnership oriented.” She said many of the career training programs at the school have industry partnerships locally, regionally and even internationally with such partners as Microsoft, Boeing, EvergreenHealth and DigiPen.

“I just really look forward to continuing to build upon the great work that’s already taken place here in establishing community partnerships with area businesses to bolster our programs,” Goings said. “When we’re connected to the community that means that our employers have the workforce that they need and it means that our students are successful in getting family-sustainable jobs.”

This partnership collaboration is part of the “five-Cs” approach she brings to her position: Community, communication, collaboration, capital and completion.

She said community is important to her and she moved with her husband and 8-year-old son from Puyallup to downtown Kirkland last week. She also plans to become a member of the Redmond Rotary.

As for “communication,” Goings will continue to get out on campus regularly to speak with students and faculty. The school will hold a meet and greet event this fall when the college community and community-at-large can meet with Goings.

For “completion” she said she will work to ensure that students continue to have a “seamless pathway” as they complete their goals.

She said the college’s No. 1 challenge currently is funding.

“All of the two-year colleges have been through the Great Recession,” Goings said. “Fortunately, we’re grateful that we did not receive any additional cuts [through the Legislature] because two-year colleges have sustained cuts since 2008.”

She is also pleased students will not see another tuition increase, thanks to the state budget the Legislature recently passed.

“Going forward we’ll be able to steadily rebuild and restore those state funds that we’ve lost over the Great Recession but also do so in a way that we’re really continuing to be responsive to the changing needs of our industry and our employers in the region so that we’re expanding and bringing on new two- and four-year programs that meet those workforce needs.”

She will also work with the college’s foundation to make sure the public institution has the resources it needs through scholarships, in-kind donations and other sources.

She plans to meet with the college’s board of trustees and executive cabinet to discuss the institutions goals and next strategic plan, which will be approved this fall.

So far, she said she’s received a “very warm welcome” from the community.

“I look forward to being a good neighbor and being very involved in the community along with my family,” Goings said, adding, “This institute is a tremendous asset and I want to make sure the community knows that we are here, we will continue to be a willing partner and look forward to partnering to meet the needs of our employers in the community.”