Miss Oregon prepares for Miss America pageant later this month

clipped from www.oregonlive.com Bosnia-born Danijela Krstic, now of Bethany, throws her heart into helping kids In 2006, while Danijela Krstic was pursuing a dental hygiene degree at the Oregon Institute of Technology, a friend encouraged her to compete in a local pageant. Krstic agreed and went on to win the title of Miss Klamath County, a $7,000 scholarship and a position among the top 10 contestants for Miss Oregon, a title she would later win. It's a long way from her birthplace. Born and raised in Bosnia, Krstic, now 24, recalls a good life before the Bosnian war began in 1992. She remembers the abrupt shift as an 8-year-old from the familiar comforts of home, to shots fired, home set ablaze and fearing for her life. "We had to leave everything behind," she said. "As a child, you don't really understand."