LYNN – Lynn resident and Army National Guard soldier Nicole Lane got the opportunity to be up close and personal with the Boston Celtics last week through the “Seats for Soldiers” program.The memorable night stemmed from her sister Alexis, who nominated her for the “Heroes Among Us” program that honors those who have made an impact on the lives of others. However, since someone had already been chosen for the award, Lane, 31, was instead selected to receive free tickets to the Jan. 14 home game against the Charlotte Bobcats.While at the game, Lane said she and other members of the military were peppered with high fives from the Celtics players as they ran out on the court and got to watch them during their pre-game warm-up.”The seats that we got were great and I thought it was really cool that someone was so generous to buy tickets for someone else,” she said. “They were $150 each, so whoever did that is really selfless.”Lane began her journey with the National Guard 11 years ago after she graduated from Lynn Tech in 1998. Since joining, Lane has gone on two tours of duty, first in 2003 to Talil, Iraq and then to Baghdad, Iraq in 2009-2010.”It was definitely worse in 2003 since it was the beginning of the war, but I don’t have to do anything dangerous as a logistics specialist,” she said. “All of us in our unit have come back safe, so that’s a blessing.”Although Lane’s primary job was to order parts for motor vehicles that had broken down, she wasn’t always in a secure location.”We would hear bombs exploding all around us and even had a couple mortar rounds hit our convoys,” she said. “It’s definitely dangerous.”Having returned from Iraq in May 2010, Lane is currently working at Bright Horizons in Cambridge and is taking classes at North Shore Community College with the goal of becoming an elementary school teacher. She is planning on leaving her troop, which is based out of Camp Edward in Cape Cod, this April in an effort to embark on the next stage of her life and to be closer to her family.”I have mixed emotions about leaving and I’m actually kind of sad about it, but my family has made huge sacrifices with me being away and my mother would kill me if I stayed in any longer,” she quipped.