St. Joseph’s University, New York prides itself not only on the tremendous work its students accomplish while on campus but the heights they achieve once they depart as well. Alumnus, adjunct professor and high school computer science teacher Eric Ruhoy ’15 is one such example, continuing to push the boundaries of his talents and passions long after graduating from SJNY’s Long Island Campus. As an educator, he now seeks to instill his students with the same values and love of learning his alma mater once did for him, albeit in new and creative ways.
Recently, Ruhoy made local news for an online puzzle game he co-created with a former colleague to challenge and teach students. Found on Vennten.com, the game involves using word association to solve daily puzzles, ranging in difficulty and subject matter. Using the skills garnered as a computer science major and teacher, Ruhoy spent the summer of 2024 writing the code and building the website, which quickly found popularity among his community.
“The real thing for me was being able to share this with my students,” Ruhoy shared. “I’m so big on encouraging them to be creative and I hope this can inspire them to build something that they have an idea for.”
The students of Mount Sinai High School where Mr. Ruhoy teaches are not the only ones who enjoy the game. Each morning the school’s security guards stop Ruhoy to tell him whether they solved the day’s puzzle. At the website’s peak, Vennten.com received upwards of 10,000 plays per day, a number Ruhoy sometimes can’t believe himself.
“It’s very humbling and rewarding knowing others are enjoying something I made. It’s been really fun to see where the game has gone. It amazes me how quickly something can spread,” he said.
According to data, the game has been played in over 20 countries, and has even been featured on the popular streaming platform Twitch. Between students, friends and family, Vennten.com still averages hundreds of plays per day while also educating students on the practical uses of computer science.
While Ruhoy is grateful to share his hard work with his students (and the world) it all circles back to his experiences at St. Joseph’s University. Originally wanting to be a math teacher, Ruhoy was inspired to double major in mathematics education and computer science by former SJNY professor S. Jane Fritz, CSJ, who taught him programming and helped him secure an internship with the Brookhaven National Laboratory. His time at the University cemented his career path and helped forge lifelong friendships and connections, one of them being his wife, who is also a schoolteacher.
And even after 11 years of teaching across multiple schools (including currently at St. Joseph’s as an adjunct professor) in both math and computer science, Ruhoy continues to go back to those lessons taught to him on campus, hoping to see his students go on to bigger and greater things. That said, Eric Ruhoy has done a wonderful job at setting the bar.
