Tenth-grader Megan Towle rehearses in the orchestra room Friday at Lawrence High School. Towle is heading off to participate in this week's Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York.

Thousands of people take part in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City, and this year, at least one of them will have been plucked right out of Lawrence.

Megan Towle, a sophomore at Lawrence High School, will be among the sea of marchers, floats, gigantic helium balloons and Matt Lauer on Thursday as a member of the Great American Marching Band.

“I was really shocked when I got the letter,” Towle said.

The 185-member band is an annual presence at the parade and includes high schoolers from all 50 states.

“It’s just crazy,” she added. “I’m excited to meet new people who love band as much as I do.”

A trombonist since sixth grade, Towle has been a member of the LHS marching band for a year. After seeing the Great American Marching Band do its thing on live TV during last year’s parade, she did some searching online and found application information.

Without the help of her parents or teachers, Towle sent in a recording sample and a written application. Three weeks later, she said, the gig was hers.

“She has a lot of ability for her age,” said Mike Jones, the band director at LHS. “It’s awesome. I think the Thanksgiving parade is really cool because so many people watch it.”

Towle and her bandmates will march about 3 miles, from Central Park to Macy’s Herald Square, in front of an expected 2.5 million spectators, not counting the millions more watching from home.

Towle left for New York on Saturday morning with her parents (her sister will join them later in the week). And the days leading up to Thanksgiving will be filled with rehearsals and sightseeing, she said.

“I think it’s an honor, and it’s really fun that we get to tag along,” said Joy, Megan’s mother. “We’re really proud of her.”