It took some doing, but 18-year-old Whitney Brown is now college-bound.

That's not something the teenage single mother ever thought could happen after she quit high school in her junior year to have her daughter, Zsleigh.

"Every time I went to look for work they'd ask me about my high school diploma," said Brown, a Wai'anae resident. "Even McDonald's."

She was desperate to provide for her daughter and to be a good role model. Then, Brown heard about YouthBuild. The program, which is federally funded but run by the city, offers teens in the court system, or with low incomes, a chance to obtain a high school diploma while receiving a stipend.

Brown was among a class of 20 students who obtained a high school diploma in May, learned a skill and participated in community service activities as part of YouthBuild.

The program is among several administered by the Youth Services Center, all with the goal of helping disadvantaged youth improve their lives.

"The students who come here, come with a lot of barriers," said Pearl Spencer, YouthBuild's program coordinator. "When they graduate, the students have a great sense of accomplishment. Our ultimate goal is to prepare them for the world of work and to be responsible."

At YouthBuild, Brown learned how to hang drywall and helped cleaning up the Mayor Wright public housing project as a community service. Her group also worked at removing graffiti. Now she has enrolled in Honolulu Community College and plans to get a degree in fire science. She wants to become a firefighter.

Most kids find out about YouthBuild through the court system or their probation officer, Spencer said. But Brown found out on her own, determined to get a diploma. She wore her cap and gown at a small graduation ceremony May 23.

"The teachers here are so understanding and respectful," Brown said. "I was able to earn my diploma even before my friends who stayed in school. This program help put me back on track."

Sticking with the program by coming to class, learning the construction trade and then participating in community service work is what made Whitney successful, said Leinaala Nakamura, Youth Services Center manager. Since 2000, when the program began, more than 150 students have earned a diploma through a state Department of Education program that focuses on teaching students skills in government, law, health, consumer economics, occupational knowledge and community resources, Nakamura said.

"The program has opened the doors for Whitney to see the opportunities out there," Nakamura said. "But a lot of her success was Whitney persevering."

Going through the 10-month program required Brown to take The Bus from her home in Wai'anae to Barber's Point where the training was, or to Dillingham, where the classes where held. She had to rely on help from her parents to watch her 2-year-old daughter and rise early to catch the bus. But now that she's in the education groove, she'll continue with classes at HCC starting Aug. 20.

"Some people say I can't do it because I'm so small in size," Brown said. "But you know what they say, you can't judge a book by its cover. You have to read the book to know what it's about. I feel like I have come a long way. It's a big relief to me to have my diploma. Now I can pick any job."

Reach Suzanne Roig at sroig@honoluluadvertiser.com.