If you were to walk into the living room that Adam Hofferica, senior in engineering, shares with his two roommates, you would see a poster of Tom Cruise giving a thumbs up from his action flick Top Gun.

This poster cracks Hofferica up — and is just one of the many offbeat things he finds funny including things such as old eighties music.

"I kind of find humor in things most people wouldn't find funny," he said. "And I sometimes make jokes that are a little insensitive."

But Hofferica said he never means any of his jokes and that those that know him well know there is no secret side to him, that he is a pretty honest guy.

So, who is Adam Hofferica?

"What you see is what you get," he said.

Roommate Paul Platt, senior in engineering, agreed.

"He's a pretty straightforward guy," he said.

Not too many people know about one side of Hofferica — his determination. His greatest fear, he said, is failure.

"Not being able to live up to my expectations, my family's expectations of me." he said. "I want my name to mean good things to people."

He said his pride in things that he does, to be the best, is one of the things that keeps him going in life. One of the things that makes him happiest is putting forth an effort, and reaping good results. He said his father is a no-nonsense type of person, that he believes in hard work, and that he inherited some of that.

"I do stuff because I want to do it," he said. "I don't want to get the 'A' because of my GPA, but because of the gratification. "

Platt said Hofferica is a pretty smart guy.

"He doesn't mess up too often," he said.

Hofferica gets his zest in life from his relationships with others.

"I think life kind of is the people you are surrounded by," he said. "The people who you love, the people who love you, my family and my friends."

One of the things that upsets him most, Hofferica said, is that people take themselves too seriously.

"A lot of people need to lighten up," he said. "If you and your loved ones are healthy and you live in America, then you're pretty okay."

A member of Delta Upsilon fraternity, Hofferica enjoys going out with his friends and is an active member of the Illini Wrestling Club. He also plays the trumpet occasionally and finds that because he has such varied interests, he can get along with lots of people.

"I used to play football in high school, and I was a little bit of a geek as well," he said. "And I think because I've done these things, I can get along with and talk to all sorts of people."

Hofferica, currently single, said he looks for humor in a girl.

"Someone who understands my sense of humor, someone who makes me laugh, and someone I can make laugh," he said. "Someone preferably not taller than me."

His favorite pick up line?

"I thought 'very fine' was just a brand of juice," he said.