Carmen Gallegos and Dolna Smithback, both 19, work so well together that their teamwork is almost as great as the perfectly delicious lunch they ate a few weeks ago.

"I put the meat and the beans in the burrito and she puts the green chile and cheese," Gallegos said before both girls burst into laughter.

The pair work with the Youth Media Project, a program where teens produce and air radio shows about important issues. The teens are going to be working together for the first time in three years to produce six different shows about their upcoming adventures aboard the Amistad replica in Long Island Sound off the coast of Connecticut. Over the past month, they have realized that they just fit well together.

"We noticed that we complement each other really well," Gallegos said with a big smile. "She's into engineering and editing and I hate that — I'm the talker."

The two left June 29 for a five-day trip aboard the Amistad, a replica of the ship involved in the "Incident of 1839," when African slaves took over the ship with hopes of returning to Africa, but went the wrong way and wrecked near Connecticut. The goal of the program, which is for high-school sophomores, is to teach people from different cultures how to work together and learn to sail the ship.

The two girls will be the oldest participants, but were invited by the founder of the Global Youth Leadership Institute, which is sponsoring the Amistad program, to put together radio broadcasts that will document the educational program. They are able to attend for free.

"We were invited to tell the stories of the youth participants," said Judy Goldberg, the executive director of the Youth Media Project.

In addition to producing the shows, the girls will also get to participate in the activities, something they are both looking forward to.

"The whole theme of the trip is to learn about culture and how to live with different types of people," Gallegos said.

Learning how to sail was a draw for Smithback.

"I'm really excited for that and getting to be in this place and learn about the events in that context," Smithback said. "Also, getting to meet and work with the students."

Other than their equipment to produce the shows, they are not allowed to take any technology such as cell phones and hair-straightening irons.

"What am I going to do?" Gallegos asked with a laugh as she grabbed a chunk of her straightened, jet black hair. "I have curly, curly hair."

Gallegos became involved with the Youth Media Project when she was a freshman at Capital High School and Smithback became involved when she was a sophomore at Monte del Sol Charter School. Both girls are now in college — Gallegos attends Central New Mexico Community College and Smithback attends the New School in New York City.

Both have produced numerous radio shows about various topics. Gallegos is most proud of the narratives and personal stories she's done, such as ¿Quien soy?, which examined what it is like to be Mexican growing up in the United States.

"That piece got picked up by (National Public Radio)," Gallegos said proudly. "It was a big deal."

"She got paid for it three times," Smithback piped in.

Smithback is most proud of a piece she did on the Bioneers Conference last year, a piece that dove into "how we can become sustainable."

"We got to do a live phone interview with Nina (Simons) and Kenny (Ausubel), the founders," Smithback said.

Smithback has found a niche in radio journalism, even interning at Democracy Now, where she got to work with her old friend Amy Goodman.

"I've had a friendship with Amy Goodman since I was in seventh grade," Smithback said of the year she met Goodman.

Both hope to continue on in some aspect of the media field. They are working on the Youth Media Project's Summer Intensive and hope that more teens will become part of the organization. The Intensive, for those age 15-25, runs from July 20-31. To sign up, visit www.youthmediaproject.org, or call Goldberg at 986-1880. While there is a fee for the summer intensive program, scholarships and waivers are available for high-school students only.

Contact Ana Maria Trujillo at 986-3084
or atrujillo@sfnewmexican.com.