Danielle Bailey saw greatness in Ava Moore when she was a seventh grader.

Bailey was Moore’s teacher in advanced English and language arts at Trinity Springs Middle School in Fort Worth, Texas. For 90 minutes a day, double the time of a standard class, Bailey had the pleasure of teaching what she called a wild class of chatty and silly students who became a small family. But even among those in an advanced course, Moore stood out. 

“She was tremendously funny even in seventh grade. She was kind and witty and inquisitive and curious about the world around her and just ridiculously smart,” Bailey said. 

“She was meant to be a world changer and she knew it.”

Like many teachers, Bailey kept an eye on her pupil long after the school year ended. An Air Force veteran herself, Bailey wasn’t surprised to learn that Moore chose to enter the military. Moore graduated from the Air Force Academy Preparatory School on May 19 and was set to join the academy’s class of 2029. Bailey said she saw a lot of herself in Ava — sarcastic and witty but structured and determined. 

Bailey’s heart sank when she heard the news from Memorial Day weekend. 

Moore, 18, was killed in a crash while kayaking on Grapevine Lake near Dallas after she was fatally struck by a jet ski.

“I saw her name and there was no picture so there was that glimmer of hope, not that I would want that to happen to someone else, but there was that a glimmer of hope that it just wasn’t her. And then seeing the picture and confirmed that, it just was devastating. The world is not going to be what it could of been because she’s not here,” Bailey said. “There’s no articulate way to say what a gut punch. To know the fragility of life and that someone with so much potential that was clearly meant for something so huge would be robbed of that.”

According to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the driver of the jet ski is 22-year-old Daikerlyn Alejandra Gonzalez-Gonzalez. After the crash, she allegedly fled the scene and then left the park in a vehicle with Maikel Alexander Coello-Perozo, 21. 

Grapevine police said Gonzalez and Perozo hit two vehicles while leaving the area. Both suspects were identified as immigrants from Venezuela living in the U.S. illegally, according to a Department of Homeland Security news release.

Bailey said she would attend Moore’s service, which was held Saturday at The Met Church in Fort Worth, according to local news reports. At the service, Moore received full military honors from the Air Force. 

Moore was a standout basketball player at the Academy Preparatory School. Her passion for the sport was something she held for a long time. 

“She was a basketball star in seventh grade. She was taller than me even in seventh grade. Basketball was life for her. Her poems were basketball and her parents and her family. She was all about family and basketball. That was everything to her,” Bailey said.  

Following her time at Trinity Springs, Moore played ball at Timber Creek High School under coach Tina DeMichele. 

Moore’s inquisitive nature also stood out to her high school coach, who recalled that she loved to ask questions to further her knowledge of the game. 

A four-year varsity player and three-year letterwinner, Moore grew from being a role player on a talented team, playing through a rebuilding year, and finally finishing her career at Timber Creek as a team captain alongside best friend Hayliegh Nguyen.

“Ava was the talker and Hayliegh was the quiet one and you couldn’t ask for a better combo,” DeMichele said. 

After Moore and Nguyen helped DeMichele run a basketball camp last year, she asked them to do it again this year but the duo was set to go on a trip this week.

Even the small amount of time Moore spent with a camper last year made a big difference. 

“One of the young ladies that was at camp last year and came back to camp this year was in Ava’s group. After camp, at the end of the day (Wednesday) she came up to me with a cell phone and with her father and she goes, ‘Coach I just want to show you this,'” DeMichele said. “Her AAU team has already put No. 21 on their jersey and that was Ava’s number at Timber Creek. … We had camp for three days and Ava had that impact on that little girl. That’s the kind of kid Ava is.”