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ABC Listen. Nenamani

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nainai Tiana. Nainai Ghana

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nainai Gangabina. Hello, are

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you good? My name is Tiana, my

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Ghana name is Gangabina, which means

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the caring one. To

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begin, it's important that we acknowledge

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the country that we are on.

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I'm on Ghanaiata, the land of

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the Ghana people, of the Adelaide Plains.

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We would like to pay our respects to

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the custodians, to the ancestors

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that nurtured the land and the elders

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that have led the way for generations.

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This is your land, this is your country,

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it has always been Aboriginal land. And as

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this is a podcast whose reach

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is far and wide, we would like to extend

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our respect to the elders of

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the lands this recording might reach.

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Fierce.

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Girl power.

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This is a story of the girl

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who skied to the top and bottom of the world,

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Jade Hermeister, written and read by

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me, 12-year-old Amelia Phillips.

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Are

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we there yet? One step

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after another, Jade forced herself to continue

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walking, trudging through the jagged

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rocks and lush grass until finally

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she arrived. She could see ghostly

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gum trees for miles. Wow,

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she whispered. Now this was

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worth it. While

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most of her friends were playing Barbies and

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learning to colour in between the lines, here

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she was scaling Mount Kosciuszko,

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Australia's tallest mountain. She

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was just six years old. Jade

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was never like other kids. As

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she got older, her friends started complaining

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about boyfriends and homework. But

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Jade was dealing with the below freezing

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temperatures at Everest Base Camp. That's

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right, Everest Base Camp.

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At the

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camp she met women from around the world who

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told a story of the amazing trip she'd

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buzz in with inspiration, ready to

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teach them with the adventure of her life.

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When she got home she announced her sleep. I

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want to go on a polar expedition, but

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not any expedition. I want to pull

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off a polar hat-trick.

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That meant skiing to the North Pole, South

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Pole and across the Greenland Ocean.

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Very few people had ever done that.

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As Jade saw

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it, there was only one small

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problem in achieving her goal. At

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the moment I

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don't know how to skate, she said, but

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that isn't going to stop. She

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spent the next two years preparing for

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the first part of the hat-trick in her

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own unique way, like

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going to the beach. She'd get

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ready for the physical demands of the North Pole,

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she spent hours trudging through the sand,

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pulling tires behind her.

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And now she was finally here.

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Pulling a 50kg

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split, Jade and her team set off

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on the long trip to the North Pole. The

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days were arduous, 8-10 hours

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each day of trudging through the snow. Filing

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their way around obstacles and finding their

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way back to the planned route.

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From

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one of the nights she spent on the ice, Jade was

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lying in bed, listening out for the polar

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bears, he was prueggling at anything that could be

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a growl on the wind. She was justifiably

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worried about the huge white creatures coming

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from high. But what she heard was

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an even scarier sound. The

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ice underneath her was cracking.

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She lay still

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and tried not to move, but there was no

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noise in her hand. Please don't

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crack open, Jade

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begged, knowing that if it did, she'd

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fall into the freezing ocean water

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below. pressing

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stops and finally, she

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slept.

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After 11 days of

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walking and freezing temperatures

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and arid landscapes, Jade

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officially reached the North Pole. At 14,

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she became the youngest person to skate

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in the North Pole from anywhere outside

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the last degree.

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A couple of months after returning,

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Jade was asked to give a TED Talk on her expedition,

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but she didn't just want to retell her own

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amazing

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stories. She used her time

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on stage to inspire young girls,

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just like those women at base camp had done for

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her. She spoke about how women

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should follow their dreams and accomplish what

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they want to in life. She said,

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courage is not the absence of fear,

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but the willingness to take action despite

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the presence of fear or self-care.

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Without bravery, our lives

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were more small.

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On that TED Talk stage, it became

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obvious to everyone that Jade

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was determined not to live

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a small life. By getting

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to the North

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Pole, she'd completed a third of her

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polar hat-trick goal. It was more

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than enough for most people, let alone

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a teenager. And in 2017, when

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she was 15, she

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traveled 550 kilometers across

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the Greenland Islands, unsupported

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and unassisted, dragging in 80

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kilograms. Finally,

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in January 2018, Jade

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and her team completed the 37 day journey from

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the coast of Antarctica to the south.

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100 kilometers, and sending world record

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specialists, including becoming the youngest

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person to complete the polar hat-trick. Please

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be an ant exhausted, she looked

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out over the vast white in awe. She'd

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done it, she was 16 years old.

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Well, it seems like a

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strange thing for a teenage

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to do, especially when you could be thinking.

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about boys or homework, Jade

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keeps adventuring to this day, given

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by three simple ideas. 1. Climate

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change. Jade's expeditions have proven

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to her that our world is a fragile

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place and needs are faster. 2. Is

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there possible? She wants everyone

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to look out for the amazing things in life

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that usually don't unnoticed. 3. Brave

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not perfect. She wants young

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people to choose bravery over

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perfection and have the courage

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to choose

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a big one.

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This story was written by me, Amelia

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Phillips.

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Jade has done incredible things, but

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that isn't what makes her fierce. To

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me, she's fierce because no matter what,

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she has strived to prove that all girls everywhere

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are capable of doing incredible things,

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and when they are fierce, they can make the

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world a better place.

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Roll the credits. This

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episode of Fierce Worlds was produced by Matt

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Tenchitt

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and Foki Townsend was my

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script editor. Stover the May

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is our sound engineer. Claire

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Rawlinson is our executive producer and

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Monique Boulley is the boss who makes sure

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we get to keep telling stories about fierce

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girls. While you're here, you

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should also check out Short and Curly,

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an ABC podcast for kids like you

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and me to answer tricky ethical questions.

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You can hear it and every other episode

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of Fierce Girls on the ABC Listen

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app, or ask your smart speaker. Please

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smart speaker, please fierce girls. Sure,

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please remember to send a

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note of sound count. Keep being fierce.