Be Your Own Hero, TEDx Maldon

Jen Willis was captivated by mountaineering from an early age, consuming books, films and talks ad infinitum. The men and women who conquered towering peaks became legends in her eyes, their stories stirring something deep inside.

Faced with a diagnosis of MS in 2018, and with an uncertain future, Jen closed her final book and embarked on a personal odyssey.

In 2022, Jen climbed not one, but two Himalayan summits in preparation for the ‘big one’. The year after, she embarked on a life-changing journey up Mount Everest, aspiring to be the first Australian with MS to climb to the top. Did she make it?

Jen’s is not just a story of mountaineering or of a life with MS. It is a story of seeking and finding inspiration where it counts the most, in herself.