How do I create an array from a CMS collection field value for custom code?

I am currently trying to use chart.js to create graphs within a CMS collection list using a HTML embed element. I have two fields that I am trying to use as the data and the labels of the chart, aka the x-axis and y-axis values. The Y-Axis field contains arrays of numbers, such as [12, 15, 10] and the X-Axis field contains arrays of strings such as [“February”, “March”, “April”]. I am able to use
“add field” to utilize my field for the Y-Axis (numeric) values of the chart, but when I try to do the same for the labels (string values), it breaks the chart. Anyone have any ideas / solutions for this? If I use the number array Field for the labels, it works, but I need string values for the labels.