From foster care to Battiste Hall: SC State freshman finds support through Move-In Day Mafia
Jailah Pinto of New Jersey moved through numerous foster homes before joining Bulldog Nation.
ORANGEBURG, S.C. – When Jailah Pinto arrived at South Carolina State University from New Jersey this fall, she carried little more than determination.
The Jersey City native, who entered foster care at age 4 and grew up moving through numerous homes with her younger sister, is forging a new path as the first in her family to attend college.
Her first days in Battiste Hall were minimalist -- her side of the room was almost bare. Pinto was prepared to make do, as she always had. A few days later, that changed when a group known as Move-In Day Mafia rolled up and began carrying in boxes.
Within hours, her room was transformed.
A mission rooted in HBCU tradition
The university’s legacy is also one of activism and access. SC State has been defined by a commitment to justice and opportunity. Pinto, a sport management major, is part of that ongoing story.
“I really wanted to go to college because I’m the first generation of my family,” she said. “I just know I have to make it one way or another, and I think college is the way to go because I’ll have my degree and having a degree will get you like in so many places you could use it in so many ways.”
Turning an empty room into a home
The organization supplies decked-out dorm rooms and monthly care packages for HBCU students who have either aged out of foster care, are experiencing housing insecurity, or are grappling with severe financial hardships.
Founder TeeJ Mercer explained that the organization works from a student’s personal questionnaire, ensuring each room is tailored to individual needs and tastes.
“These kids have always just been handed things and saying, ‘Here, be thankful I’m helping,’” Mercer said. “That’s not Mafia. We want them to know that we see them. They have autonomy to choose what they want.”
Students have received laptops, headsets, wigs tied to self-image, or even podcasting equipment. For Pinto, the program meant turning a sparse dorm into a space that felt like hers.
“Having them is amazing -- I’m really thankful I got accepted into this program,” Pinto said.
Origins of the Move-In Day Mafia
Mercer said she couldn’t shake what she saw. “I remember looking at this kid’s room and thinking, ‘This is not how you start college,’” she said. “A bare mattress, nothing on the walls, no comfort, no sense of home — it broke me. I thought, if I can fix this for one student, I can fix it for more.”
The group is fueled by partnerships with such major corporate entities as Amazon, Best Buy and Cisco. Their backing ensures students receive not only furnishings, but also the technology and supplies needed to stay on track.
Word spread, and the initiative developed into a structured nonprofit with a bold name meant to signal protection and loyalty.
The “Mafia” moniker, Mercer explained, was a way of telling students, “Once you’re in, you’re family for life.”
She also said the mission was about rewriting the foster-care narrative.
“So many of these kids have been made to feel invisible or like they should just be grateful for scraps,” she said. “Mafia is about saying, ‘You deserve joy. You deserve dignity. You deserve to walk into a room that feels like somebody cared enough to make it yours.’”
Before this fall, the organization had visited 21 campuses nationwide, helping 84 students.
“And by the time the 2025-26 season is over, I am thrilled and getting that we will have moved in 107 HBCU students across 26 HBCUs,” Mercer said.
Beyond move-in day
“What is unique about Mafia is that moving day is just the beginning,” Mercer said. “We wrap these kids in four years of support with monthly care packages.”
That continuing support has already changed lives. One Move-In Day Mafia student is now a 4.0 scholar at Clark Atlanta University. Others are interning with Disney, Chase Bank and the Tennessee State Lottery.
“They're landing jobs,” Mercer said, “and it's amazing to watch what these students can do when they're not being stressed with basic needs.”
The work is aimed at shifting stark statistics: while 70% of foster youth aspire to college, only 3% enroll, and just 1% graduate
“We are really the difference between the kid pushing through and quitting,” Mercer said. “So, I’m stopping until my babies have graduated.”
A university’s embrace
At SC State, administrators see Move-In Day Mafia as a crucial ally. Dr. Tamara Jeffries, the university’s vice president of student affairs, said the program fills needs the university cannot always meet.
“Students do and can fall through the cracks, although the Division of Student Affairs is here, and we spend the majority of our time with students because we provide those support services outside of the classroom,” Jeffries said. “There are still things that we can’t provide that Move-In Day Mafia can.”
SC State maintains a campus pantry supported by donations to help students with food and personal essentials, but Jeffries noted that Move-In Day Mafia goes further by fully equipping living spaces and providing monthly care packages.
With Pinto as SC State’s first recipient, Jeffries called the program a “game changer” and said she hopes more SC State students will benefit in the future.
“This allows us an opportunity to provide a student with everything that he or she may need to help them be successful while they’re here,” Jeffries said.
Building a future at SC State
Despite growing up bouncing around to different foster homes, she stayed grounded in athletics as a multisport student-athlete in basketball, track, softball and cheerleading.
Now settled in at SC State, Pinto is focused on her classes, her sport management major, and her goals. She dreams of a career in athletics, perhaps coaching or sports communications.
Though shy, she wants to make friends and explore student life. She has considered joining ROTC and is open to pledging a sorority after her first year. For now, she is determined to keep her grades strong.
Her motivation is tied to her siblings, who also grew up in foster care.
“I want to show them that even though it’s hard, you can still do it,” she said. “Like, no matter what you go through, you can make it out.”
Her room now holds more than furniture. It represents support, belonging, and the belief that she can carry her determination into a degree and a future she has claimed for herself.
She knows independence has shaped her, but she no longer feels alone.
“At least I know I have somebody helping me and by my side,” she said. “I’m not doing it by myself.”
For more information about Move-In Day Mafia, visit www.moveindaymafia.org.
To support the Bulldog Express Pantry, visit www.scsu.edu/give/now.php and select “SGA Bulldog Express Pantry” from the dropdown menu.