Making Waves Beyond the Water: Michael Wood Named to Allstate Good Works Team

FEB 25, 2026

Last weekend, Michael Wood placed as a top-three diver in the A10 conference for the one-meter and three-meter diving events, helping the GW Revs win their sixth consecutive A10 championship. Clearly, Michael knows how to make a splash… not just in the pool, but in the community, too.

Michael Wood Allstate Goodworks Team NACDA-published Image

A National Honor for Service and Leadership

Grassroots Health is proud to celebrate Michael Wood, a GW Men’s Swimming & Diving student-athlete, on being named to the 2025–26 Allstate Good Works Team for winter sports. This prestigious honor recognizes just 20 collegiate athletes nationwide each season who go above and beyond in volunteerism and civic engagement, while also excelling in academics and athletics. Michael embodies exactly what this award represents: leadership in sport, in the classroom, and in the community.

Michael’s History with Grassroots Health

Michael (a.k.a. “Woody”) first trained as a Grassroots Health volunteer two years ago, and since then has served in nine programs across Washington, D.C. Through more than 100 hours of service, he has taught middle school students about nutrition, sexual health, and mental well-being, helping advance health equity in local middle schools. His commitment to youth development and consistency in showing up for students led him to step into a Site Coordinator role this year, where he now mentors fellow college student-athlete volunteers in each classroom and helps lead programming. The relationships he has built with young people across the city are a testament to his heart for service and steady leadership.

Teapot, Woody, and Yo Gabba Gabba get those reps in at Training

Dara and Michael selfie outside GRH office

Dara Reyblat, a fellow GW athlete and peer in Grassroots Health, says that “in GRH Woody truly flourishes — he’s in a space where he can be his goofy self while teaching kids valuable lessons and interacting with them with openness and curiosity.”

Words from J-Dub

“There are a lot of ways for student-athletes to ‘give back.’ But what Michael has done goes far beyond checking a box or showing up once. He chose to keep coming back, to ask how he could get better, to seek out more training, to step into leadership, and to truly invest in the young people he serves. That kind of consistency says something powerful. It shows that the discipline and drive developed through college athletics aren’t just about winning in the pool, they’re about showing up for others, building trust, and creating real, lasting impact in a community. As a GW athletic alumnus myself, I am proud of the legacy of these current athletes continuing to commit to what makes our DC community so special.” – Jane Wallis, Grassroots Health Executive Director

In the pool at George Washington University, Michael is equally impressive, earning A-10 All-Conference honors, competing twice at NCAA Zone A, and contributing key points to GW’s conference championship run. A four-time Dean’s List honoree and CSC Academic All-District selection, he exemplifies excellence in every arena he enters. We are incredibly proud to see his dedication to Grassroots Health and to D.C. youth recognized on a national stage.