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FORT LAUDERDALE (CBS4) ― Family, friends and classmates of Amanda Collette packed St. Clements Catholic Church in Wilton Manors for the funeral mass to celebrate her life and mourn her death.

"She was always so warm and graceful. She was my angel," said friend Kayla Johnson. "She was angelic, even in her face and in her heart. That's how she was."

Amanda's family sat in the church, surrounded by those who loved her. "Amanda, she was always a great soul," said Azsia Deal. "When ever she walked in a room, she always had a smile on her face all the time."

Those who loved Amanda knew she was most happy when she danced. And they all marvel at how she lived up to her middle name, Grace.  "Grace means beauty and beauty in movement," said classmate Jessica Lister, "and she was absolutely gorgeous when she danced. Every time she put on ballet shoes, whether it was a bad day for her, a good day for her, she's was absolutely gorgeous."

Friends of the girls are still in shock over her death.  "She never took you for granted and she always let you know she loved you," said Stephanie Taylor. "There was never a second where like you would ever forget it with her, she would always let you know."

The 15-year-old Dillard High School sophomore was shot to death last week by fellow classmate Teah Wimberly, according to police. Wimberly reportedly confessed to the shooting during questioning.

At the funeral, Miami Archbishop John Favalora reminded Amanda's family and friends that they should pray for Teah Wimberly and her family as well, "that the lord will bring them comfort out of this very tragic situation and bring forgiveness and healing into this community."

Jaime Goeff's parents also came to mourn Amanda's death at her funeral. They are one of the few people who can understand the pain Amanda's family is feeling; their son Jaime was also killed at school by a fellow student.

One thing Amanda's friends take comfort in is that even though she was only a sophomore at Dillard, she made a difference in her short life; effecting not only the Dillard Class of 2011, but the entire school.

"She truly changed Dillard because everybody is closer together now," said Taylor. "It takes someone who was so good and so pure to change everyone."

Following the funeral mass, burial services were held at Sunset Memorial Gardens in Fort Lauderdale.  Amanda Collette's grief-stricken mother followed her coffin out of church after her funeral.

On Sunday afternoon, more than 700 mourners packed Dillard High School's Performing Arts Building Sunday to say goodbye.

During the two hour service, sobbing classmates filed passed Amanda's pink coffin to see their disarming friend for the last time. One grief-stricken friend said "Amanda was the best friend you could have, she loved to dance."

Hannah Baumgarten, Collette's modern dance instructor at the school told the audience "Amanda is proof even the quietest can touch many."

Collette's large extended family filled the auditorium's front rows. Amanda's mother, Joyce Collette, hugged relatives and crying friends.

"It's a great loss to the family. She was a great person. She was my project until she was 13 and then I was her project," explained Anthony Thompson, Amanda Collette's stepfather. "We just hope kids look at this situation and understand it is a cruel world."

"We are human; we feel the pain and grief and loss. But we know the sun will shine again and we hold onto that hope, said her cousin Chris McLemore.

Friday Collette's family said they hoped Amanda's death will not have been in vain. They hope her murder will lead to better school security and awareness about school violence. Her aunt, Teshawnia Thompson, spoke to the news media at a family home explaining, "She was only 15, and she touched so many lives… from the amount of calls we received."

Many of Amanda's family members are graduates of Dillard High. They believe more steps should be taken to curb potential violence. "The thing that bothers me is that Amanda is not here. She's only 15 years old, and she's gone, and this didn't have to happen."

"School violence is a very serious issue and it's something that we all need to be aware of and to address. There's some preventative measures that could have been taken and maybe this would not have happened," Thompson insisted.

Last Thursday, Wimberly was formally charged with first-degree for the death of Collette. According to the girls' friends, Wimberly was upset recently after having approached Collette about a relationship and was rejected.

The Broward State Attorney's Office has indicated that she will most likely be charged as an adult. To charge her with first degree murder as an adult, prosecutors must take their evidence to a grand jury and have them hand up an indictment.

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