She obtained her B.A. from Pennsylvania State University, a Masters of Social Work from Syracuse University, and a doctorate from Oklahoma State University. Her research centers on gerontology and human development. For her work in this area, Waldrop was granted a Hartford Faculty Scholar award in 2002 to do work with elderly populations in Western New York. In April of 1995, Waldrop was working as a Social Work Director for St. Anthony Hospital in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, just five blocks away from the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building when a truck bomb detonated in front of it. After the bombing, Waldrop helped develop a crisis-intervention program for hospital employees and other caregivers affected by the bombing. She has co-authored articles on gerontological social work and contributed to the book The Qualitative Research Experience.