. >>> mara castro, heather paulson and kayla mccabe are the very definition of foot soldiers.nia women are college students at san jose state university who turned a class project into an effective movement for change. their professor told them find a way to make the world a better place. so after some research, the students learned that san jose is among the top ten most expensive cities to live in but the minimum wage is only $8 a hour. the students decided it was time for a change. they learned that in san francisco the city had raised the minimum wage in 2003 and determined that san jose should do the same. they got more students involved. attended city hall meetings and met with city council members. and with the aid of their professor, scott myers lipton, the students got in touch with the south bay labor council, a group that represents 90 local unions. the labor council recommended that the students raise some money and do some polling so they did. the students raised $6,000 and hired a polling agency, which found that about 70% of people polled were in favor of increa