Nova Southeastern University (NSU) is proud to announce that three students have received scholarships to help them continue their educational journeys.

Taylor Matthews received the AutoNation/Racing for Cancer Changing Lives Scholarship, while Avery Wright and Paula Fernandez were awarded the Hunter-Reay Family #beatcancer Changing Lives Scholarship. All three scholarship recipients are pursuing oncology-related nursing degrees.

“I can now stop worrying about paying for school and can put my full attention on excelling in my classes and becoming the best nurse possible,” Matthews said.

These scholarships are part of the Racing for Cancer project that was spearheaded by 2012 IndyCar and 2014 Indianapolis 500 champion Ryan Hunter-Reay following his mother Lydia’s passing from cancer. Since 2010, the organization has worked to unite motorsports fans, teams, drivers, and sponsors together to join in donating to research, support, and scholarships like the Nova Southeastern University partnerships.

“We’re thrilled to be able to help these exceptional students on their journeys to caring for those around them,” said Ryan Hunter-Reay. “Upholding the legacy of my mom, who was also a nurse, is so important to our mission. She would be exceptionally proud of these nursing students.”

Back in 2016, Hunter-Reay partnered with NSU to help support ongoing and emerging cancer research, which included the establishment of the AutoNation/Hunter-Reay Research Lab, located within NSU’s AutoNation Institute at the university’s state-of-the-art Center for Collaborative Research. Hunter-Reay is helping support cancer research at NSU through his non-profit, Racing for Cancer, Inc.

“NSU is heavily focused on cancer research and is making strident efforts to bring experts from a variety of fields together to tackle different forms of this terrible disease,” said NSU President Dr. George Hanbury. “We are proud to work with Mr. Hunter-Reay, Racing for Cancer, and AutoNation, to drive out cancer.”