When Hannah Robinson was just a 19-year-old college student, she became a big sister to T.J., her half-brother. Because of his parent’s addiction issues, he was soon placed in the foster care system.

Robinson told PEOPLE in an interview that she knew she wanted to adopt him as soon as he was born. “I never imagined anything different,” she said. “He needs somebody, and I’m going to be that person.”

However, it wasn’t an easy journey. Born at 32 weeks, he was sent to his first foster home as soon as he was released from the hospital. Since he wasn’t eligible for adoption at the time, he moved through multiple homes until he was 5 years old.

At the time, Hannah was dating her high school sweetheart, Drew Munn, who was also in college. Robinson was a student at St. Lawrence College, in Ontario, while Munn attended Canada’s Royal Military College.

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She told her then-boyfriend about her plan to adopt T.J. someday and told him, “I need you to decide right now — are you on board or not?”

Munn, who had been dating her since the 10th grade, says that at first, he wasn’t sure they were ready to be parents.

“We were still in college, still gaining adult experience,” says Munn, now a 25-year-old engineer officer in the Canadian Armed Forces. “But T.J. needed us. Hannah’s conviction convinced me.”

After the couple graduated from college, they bought a home together and set up a room for T.J. in hopes he would join them soon.

LifeNews Note: Ashlynn Lemos is the communications intern for Texas Right to Life.